John Eastman loses effort to keep his call records from the Jan. 6 committee: report

The controversial author of Donald Trump's "coup memo" to overturn the 2022 presidential election lost a bid to keep his phone records from the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"In a late Tuesday filing, Eastman voluntarily dismissed the suit, claiming that he’d been assured the committee was only seeking his call logs — not the content of any messages held by his carrier, Verizon. The select committee has long contended that it lacks the authority to obtain message content," Politico reported Tuesday.

Although Eastman ultimately lost, he was successful at tying the issue up in court for more than six months.

"Eastman’s move comes, however, as the legal threats he’s facing have begun to mount. Last week, FBI agents seized Eastman’s phone as part of a Justice Department inspector general investigation related to the 2020 election. Earlier this month, a federal judge forced Eastman to turn over hundreds of Trump-related emails to the Jan. 6 select committee, rejecting many of his claims of attorney-client privilege. That judge, David Carter, had already determined that Eastman and Trump 'likely' entered into a criminal conspiracy to obstruct Congress on Jan. 6, 2021," Politico reported.

The select committee says Eastman was also emailing with Ginni Thomas as she sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"The select committee has issued dozens of subpoenas to phone companies like Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T for witnesses’ phone logs. More than a dozen witnesses have sued to block the committee from obtaining those records, and many of those suits are still pending," Politico reported.

Read the full report.