Donald Trump Violated Multiple Laws in Trying to Overturn the 2020 Election, Capitol Attack Committee Says

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack said former President Donald Trump broke multiple laws in his effort to overturn the 2020 election.

In a court filing late Wednesday, the Democratic-led committee said its evidence has shown that Trump and his key allies tried to illegally obstruct Congress' counting of the Electoral College votes and "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States."

According to NPR, the filing was part of a court case tied to lawyer John Eastman, who has been fighting a subpoena issued by the select committee to share additional documents.

Eastman reportedly shared a memo detailing how former Vice President Mike Pence could reject Joe Biden's win as he presided over counting the electoral votes. The panel said Eastman tried to hide several records critical to the investigation by citing privilege claims.

Capitol Attack Committee Says Evidence Points to Donald Trump and His Allies Illegally Obstructing an Official Proceeding

The House select committee noted that "the evidence supports an inference that President Trump, Plaintiff, and several others entered into an agreement to defraud the United States by interfering with the election certification process."

The panel added that Trump and his allies disseminated false information about election fraud and pressured state officials "to alter state election results and federal officials to assist in that effort."

According to The Guardian, the filing was intended to force John Eastman to turn over the thousands of emails related to his role in attempting to persuade Mike Pence to reject electors from states won by President Joe Biden. The former lawyer of Donald Trump has cited attorney-client privilege for not turning over the documents.

In the 61-page court filing, House counsel Douglas Letter noted that Trump knew he had not won enough electoral college votes to win the 2020 presidential election. But he still sought the former vice president to manipulate the results to sway in his favor.

House investigators added that there was evidence to imply that the conspiracy to defraud extended to the Capitol riot. They said it was plausible to argue that Trump conspired with the Capitol rioters to disrupt Biden's certification on January 6.

So far, Eastman has submitted around 8,000 pages of emails to committee investigators. However, he is still withholding roughly 11,000 documents, citing attorney-client privilege.

A panel aide noted that investigators have so far spoken to more than 650 witnesses. The select committee has publicly issued more than 90 subpoenas, mainly targeting Trump's inner circle.

The panel argued in the filing that the attorney-client privilege claims were cut by Eastman's inability to show he was formally retained as Trump's lawyer.

In a statement, committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney said the facts they have gathered "strongly suggest" that Eastman's emails may show he aided Trump to advance a "corrupt scheme to obstruct" the counting of votes.

The Washington Post reported that the latest filing of the select committee is the strongest assertion yet from the panel that it believes the former president possibly committed crimes.

Capitol Attack Committee Aims to Publish Interim Report This June

Bennie Thompson told the press Wednesday that the investigators' goal was to wrap up depositions with witnesses by the start of April.

The select committee would also hold public hearings in April, followed by the release of an interim report in June, CBS News reported.

There could be pushbacks in the timeline if investigators find out new information or seek testimony and records from other witnesses.

Meanwhile, Peter Navarro, a former Donald Trump trade adviser, failed to show up for his scheduled deposition on Wednesday.

Thompson said they are not ruling out a possibility of pursuing criminal contempt against Navarro. The committee chairman noted that "it's always an option" for witnesses who refuse to cooperate.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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