In a video that went viral as people waited to see some progress in a criminal investigation into Donald Trump and his allies after their attempt to stage a coup to keep Trump in power, attorney John Eastman could be seen being searched by federal agents and his phone seized as evidence. Now, the Department of Justice has obtained a second search warrant for Eastman’s phone, a fact that does not bode well for him.
MORE: DOJ took an important step toward accessing John EASTMAN's phone on Wednesday as it continues its aggressive pursuit of evidence connected to Jan. 6 and efforts to disrupt the transfer of power.
w/ @joshgersteinhttps://t.co/BFUVbF8Lsw
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 27, 2022
While the phone was seized after obtaining the original warrant, it did not cover the search of emails or text messages found on the phone. Eastman filed a legal argument against any wide-ranging search of his communications as a lawyer with attorney-client privilege to consider. A second judge has now granted a warrant for the DOJ to examine “evidence of specific federal crimes or specific types of material.
According to POLITICO:
‘The Justice Department revealed on Wednesday that it had obtained a new search warrant to access the contents of attorney John Eastman’s phone, which it seized from the pro-Trump lawyer last month before transporting it to a lab in Virginia. The development, filed in court via Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom, came in response to a legal effort by Eastman to block investigators from “rummaging” through his files.’
NEWS: DOJ (via AUSA Thomas Windom) says it has obtained a second search warrant for John EASTMAN's phone and is implementing a "filter protocol" to ensure privileged material isn't accessed.
This is a precursor to DOJ obtaining his comms. https://t.co/NNkjXnueJM pic.twitter.com/CRiQSmXaEO
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 27, 2022
Eastman’s involvement in the scheme to have “alternate” (read: fake) electors sign documents identifying themselves as the genuine electors for their state who cast their votes for Donald Trump, despite his having lost the election in those states, is the DOJ’s focus in obtaining these search warrants. Eastman was already determined by a judge to have likely committed a crime.
‘A federal judge in March determined that Eastman and Trump likely entered into a criminal conspiracy to overturn the election, in part by using the false electors to try to reverse the outcome on Jan. 6, 2021, the day Congress was required to count electoral votes and certify the election results.’
U.S. gets warrant to search phone of Trump's election attorney John Eastman https://t.co/jvWmbX2mUm pic.twitter.com/8Ko0ddIMUe
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 27, 2022
Eastman has long been a subject of scrutiny around Trump, along with his other “attorneys” like Rudy Giuliani, Sydney Powell, and Jenna Ellis. Each of those lawyers face ethics complaints, fines, sanctions, suspension, and potential disbarment for their actions around the 2020 presidential election. Eastman has been a particular focus in parts of the Jan. 6 committee’s hearings thanks to his efforts to help Trump overturn the election.
‘FBI agents confronted Eastman on June 22 and obtained the cellphone, using the initial warrant. Video of the encounter shows Eastman repeatedly asking agents to see the warrant, which they revealed to him after taking his phone.’
