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WASHINGTON — John Eastman, the former Trump lawyer who wrote memos arguing then-Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 election, has dropped his lawsuit that tried to block the House Jan. 6 committee from getting his call logs.
Eastman’s lawyers said in a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday night that he brought this lawsuit primarily to protect the content of his communications, many of which are privileged,” but the committee made clear “that they were not seeking the content” of Eastman’s communications, only the call logs from his carrier, Verizon.
The decision to drop the lawsuit came after Eastman said in a separate court filing Monday that federal agents seized his phone last week.
In papers filed in federal court in New Mexico, Eastman said he was stopped last week in New Mexico by federal agents who executed a search warrant and seized his phone. He said FBI agents stopped him Wednesday evening as he was walking to his car after having dinner at a restaurant with his wife and a friend. The agents patted Eastman down, seized his phone and “forced” him to unlock it, he said.
The warrant authorized seizure of “any electronic or digital device—including cell phones, USB devices, iPads, and computers identified in the affidavit—and all information in such devices,” the court filing said. Eastman is seeking his phone’s return.
In a committee hearing this month, Pence’s counsel, Greg Jacob, testified that Eastman urged the vice president on Jan. 5, 2021, to reject electors from contested states in an effort to overturn the election, even after having acknowledged the day before that doing so would be illegal.
