A federal judge in California said Monday that President Donald Trump “more likely than not” committed a felony by attempting to obstruct Congress as part of a scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
The judge’s decision bolsters the case of the January 6 committee probing the Capitol riot, in which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the premises in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results for Joe Biden. The investigative House panel has accused Trump of inciting the attack and has been considering making a criminal referral to the Justice Department.
“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” wrote Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California. “Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the vice president to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election.”
The judge also issued an order for John Eastman — a lawyer who authored a memo that some members of Congress have suggested was a plan for former vice president Pence to invalidate the 2020 election — to turn over more than 100 emails to the committee.
Such documents likely detail the six-step plan pitched by Eastman to convince Pence that there was a legal, Constitutional route by which he could refuse to certify electors from several key swing states when the electoral counting process commenced on January 6. Eastman had already sued the committee to stop the court from compelling him to submit the emails, citing attorney-client privilege.
“The true animating force behind these emails was advancing a political strategy: to persuade Vice President Pence to take unilateral action on January 6,” Judge Carter wrote.
The committee has rejected Eastman’s privilege appeal, claiming that such an exception is not applicable in the case that the documents were used to advance a criminal plot. Members have argued that they have amassed enough ammunition to prove that Trump, Eastman, and other associated likely committed crimes relating to obstructing congressional procedure and conspiring to defraud the American public.
Carter decided Monday that it was “likely” that Trump and Eastman met both of these prongs, and “dishonestly conspired to obstruct the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.” He claimed that Trump knew there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud and yet pushed Pence to pursue the backdoor route to secure him the final victory anyway.
“President Trump and Dr. Eastman justified the plan with allegations of election fraud,” he said, “but President Trump likely knew the justification was baseless, and therefore that the entire plan was unlawful.”