Eastman sues Jan. 6 committee and Verizon to prevent release of phone records

…from Politico

[ Editor’s Note: The Trump grifters are going down hill on the quality of their lawsuits, pulling things out of their butts now to try something different. Eastman’s is the silliest so far, a sign of a ‘budget’ law firm hired to just throw something sticking against the wall.

It also shows that the whole Insurrection crew is terrified of having to testify and will try to follow in Trump’s shoes as the master delayer when it comes to lawsuits. At some point, the courts might want to compile all of these cases into one to avoid clogging their dockets, which seems to be the Trumpster plan.

This one is the most silly so far, alleging that the Committee cannot get cel phone data on publicly known top suspects in the Insurrection planning.

Eastman would have us and the courts believe that, despite  the huge legal resources available to the Jan6 Committee, it does not have the legal talent to properly file requests for phones during the planning to overthrow the government.

The silver lining here is that the courts might start getting really pissed at these diversionary filings and reject them with prejudice.

One of the stated purposes of the Jan6 investigation is to verify what actually happened so that new legislation can be created to nip any future attempts in the bud. The courts might have a huge interest in avoiding their being used as endless delay tools, with the tens of millions of Trumpers getting trained in how to file frivolous litigation to clog up the courts.

In effect, the Trumpers are trying to weaponize the courts into being ‘their’ weapon. The only other key ingredient is having some deep dark money pockets to pay for the attorney bills which will make the latter very happy… Jim W. Dean ]

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First published December 12, 2021

John Eastman, the attorney who helped former President Donald Trump try to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 presidential election, on Tuesday sued Verizon and the House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6.

Eastman’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., follows a similar lawsuit filed Monday by four organizers of the Jan. 6 rally. Monday’s lawsuit, against Verizon, argued the select committee doesn’t have the proper authority to obtain the cell phone data.

…The lawsuit filed Tuesday says the committee subpoenaed Verizon “without prior notice,” requesting nine categories of data from Eastman’s personal cell phone over a three-month period.

…It argues the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoena of cell phone records is invalid for multiple reasons, claiming the committee is “attempting to exercise a law enforcement function,” that the subpoena infringes upon attorney-client privilege, that the subpoena is a violation of the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, and that it was issued in violation of House rules and the committee’s “own authorizing resolution.”

“The Committee’s lack of validly appointed minority members or a validly appointed ‘ranking minority member’ makes such compliance impossible,” the suit says. The Jan. 6 panel has seven Democrats and two Republicans — the only two House Republicans who voted in favor of the panel’s formation

Jim W. Dean

Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus.  He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022.  He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.  He now writes and posts periodically for VT.

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