The 6 January select committee has won access to a cache of emails withheld from its inquiry by John Eastman, the lawyer who penned an infamous memo outlining a plan for Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election in Donald Trump’s favour.
In a scathing opinion, the judge hearing the case wrote that “Dr Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history” – and that “If Dr Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”
“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Judge David Carter wrote of Mr Trump and lawyer John Eastman’s proposal to have then-Vice President Mike Pence determine the results of the election.
The news comes as the select committee prepares to vote tonight on referring Trump aides Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro to the House of Representatives for contempt of Congress.
President Joe Biden has turned down the two men’s attempts to resist the panel’s subpoenas by asserting executive privilege, a claim that has failed numerous subpoenaed witnesses already. According to a report released by the committee on Sunday evening, Mr Biden “determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the national interest, and therefore is not justified”.
