Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol says it believes Donald Trump committed criminal acts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, in his attempts to block the certification of the 2020 election he lost.Lawyers for the select committee made the claims in a court filing late Wednesday challenging conservative lawyer John Eastman’s refusal to turn over documents the panel has requested, which relate to his role in trying to persuade then-vice president Mike Pence to reject electors from states won by President Joe Biden.Eastman, who has said he was acting as a lawyer and advisor for Trump’s re-election campaign, cited attorney-client privilege in a reason for not turning over the documents.
But the committee’s court filing argues that claim is voided by a “crime fraud exception.”The filing proceeds to detail what could be the basis of a criminal case against Trump, Eastman and other potential co-conspirators — the clearest signal yet that Trump could face charges if the U.S.
Justice Department were to pursue them.“The Select Committee also has a good-faith basis for concluding that the President and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States,” the committee wrote in a filing submitted in U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California. Judge rejects effort by Trump to toss lawsuits alleging incitement of Jan.