Trump ‘more likely than not’ Committed Crimes Trying To Overturn 2020 Election

A US District Judge ruled that the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol has a right to see emails written to former President Donald Trump by one of his former lawyers, John Eastman, and that “based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”

Trump’s lawyer must turn over documents, including over 100 emails from around the time of the attack, to the January 6 House Select committee.

‘The illegality of the plan was obvious,’ Judge David Carter wrote.

‘Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election . . . Every American — and certainly the President of the United States — knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed.’

Carter’s findings marked a breakthrough for the committee investigating the insurrection, which said earlier this month it believed Trump might have committed multiple felonies.

Eastman reportedly advised Trump that Vice President Mike Pence could reject electors in particular states to impede Joe Biden’s path to an Electoral College win and wrote memos outlining options in which Pence could change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

“President Trump and Dr. Eastman justified the plan with allegations of election fraud — but President Trump likely knew the justification was baseless, and therefore that the entire plan was unlawful,” Carter wrote.

Even if Trump believed the federal law that governs how Congress tallies presidential elections was unconstitutional, that did not give him license to violate it, Carter added.

“Disagreeing with the law entitled President Trump to seek a remedy in court, not to disrupt a constitutionally-mandated process,” Carter wrote. “And President Trump knew how to pursue election claims in court — after filing and losing more than sixty suits, this plan was a last-ditch attempt to secure the Presidency by any means.”

“If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution,” Carter wrote. “If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”

Select committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and ranking member Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a joint statement that Carter’s ruling was “a victory for the rule of law” and the judge’s opinion “includes a warning: that a failure to pursue accountability could set the stage for a repeat of January 6th. America must not allow what happened on that day to be minimized and cannot accept as normal these threats to our democracy.”

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