Trump lawyer Eastman sues Jan. 6 panel, Verizon to block release of phone records

John Eastman, a lawyer who worked with former President Trump in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, has sued Verizon and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to block the release of his phone records. 

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Eastman alleges the committee subpoenaed Verizon “without prior notice” to him, adding the committee requested nine categories of data from his personal cellphone over a three month period. 

“The Committee’s lack of validly appointed minority members or a validly appointed ‘ranking minority member’ makes such compliance impossible,” the suit says.

The lawsuit argues the committee’s subpoena of his cellphone records is invalid, saying, “the Committee is attempting to exercise a law enforcement function,” adding the subpoena infringed on attorney-client privileges, and “the subpoena was issued in violation of House Rules and the J6 Committee’s own authorizing resolution.” 

Eastman’s lawsuit also argues that his Republican party affiliation and support for Trump “puts him at odds with the Committee’s highly partisan membership.”

Eastman, the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, worked to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to overturns the results of the presidential election, calling for state legislative leaders to reject President Biden’s eventual victory in a handful of swing states. 

He has so far declined to cooperate with the Jan. 6 panel, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.