Federal judge says Trump likely obstructed 2020 election count

A federal judge on Monday said that former President Donald Trump “more likely than not” committed a crime in attempting to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election.

In a 44-page order, Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, said the former president — through legal counsel — attempted to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to delay or stop the certification of President Biden’s 2020 election win.

When the vice president refused to do so, Mr. Trump told his supporters to protest at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Trump made the comments both at a Jan. 6 rally in Washington and on Twitter.

“These actions more likely than not constitute attempts to obstruct an official proceeding,” Judge Carter wrote.

The legal battle involves the House’s Jan. 6 committees demanding that conservative lawyer John Eastman hand over more than 100 documents of communications with Mr. Trump and his allies in contesting the election.

Mr. Eastman claimed the work was privileged in that it related to his attorney-client privilege covering legal work for Mr. Trump.

The judge, though, rejected much of that argument. He ordered the release of 101 documents from Mr. Eastman’s emails to the committee.

“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history,” the judge wrote in the order. “Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process.”

Mr. Eastman encouraged Mr. Pence to refuse to certify electoral votes that were from states being contested by Mr. Trump. If Mr. Pence complied with Mr. Eastman’s request, that would have left Mr. Biden shy of the needed 270 electoral votes on Jan. 6 to become president.

Charles Burnham, an attorney for Mr. Eastman, said his client had to raise attorney-client privilege claims on behalf of representing Mr. Trump — but that Mr. Eastman will comply with the court’s order. 

Mr. Burnham went on to say the judge’s order wasn’t related to criminal prosecution or even a civil liability lawsuit. 

“The court’s findings were therefore not based on the complete picture, but instead relied on evidence cherry-picked by the committee, supplemented by news articles,” Mr. Burnham said. “Dr. Eastman has an unblemished record as an attorney and respectfully disagrees with the judge’s findings.”

A spokesperson for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Reps. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, and Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican, said the ruling was a victory for the rule of law.

“The Court’s opinion also includes a warning: that a failure to pursue accountability could set the stage for a repeat of January 6th. America must not allow what happened on that day to be minimized and cannot accept as normal these threats to our democracy,” said the joint statement by the two lawmakers, who respectively are the chair and vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot can’t charge the former president or his counsel with a crime. The committee can make a referral for criminal charges to the Department of Justice.