Judge denies Eastman attempt to reclaim phone seized by FBI

A national justice connected Friday denied an effort by John Eastman, the lawyer who helped devise Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to subvert the 2020 election, to reclaim his telephone from the Justice Department.

New Mexico-based Senior U.S. District Court Judge Robert Brack ruled that Eastman had failed to amusement that the government’s seizure of his telephone — by FBI agents who confronted him extracurricular a edifice successful June — had caused “irreparable harm.” Brack noted that Eastman had obtained a replacement telephone and that his tendency to barroom the authorities from combing the contents of his seized telephone was not a capable crushed to reclaim it from the Justice Department.

“Eastman wholly fails to amusement and successful information disclaims immoderate request for the existent phone,” Brack noted successful the 17-page ruling.

FBI agents investigating efforts by Trump allies to overturn the 2020 predetermination seized Eastman’s telephone successful June arsenic helium exited a edifice successful New Mexico, wherever helium lives. Eastman was a cardinal designer of Trump’s program to name mendacious statesmanlike electors and unit then-Vice President Mike Pence to see them connected Jan. 6, 2021, erstwhile helium presided implicit the certification of the predetermination results by Congress.

Eastman, who besides failed to fend disconnected an effort by legislature investigators to entree a ample cache of his emails, argued successful his archetypal ailment that FBI investigators mightiness entree privileged accusation connected his phone. But aft seizing his phone, national prosecutors obtained a 2nd hunt warrant that included safeguards to support privileged material. This improvement made Eastman’s ailment “practically moot,” Brack noted.

In addition, Brack ruled that Eastman’s claims that the government’s seizure of his telephone could chill his First Amendment-protected code oregon associations would beryllium amended addressed successful beforehand of the U.S. District Court of Washington D.C., which issued the 2nd hunt warrant.

“Eastman’s statement regarding privileged worldly fails for the aforesaid crushed that his statement connected the purported First Amendment usurpation fails: helium is pressing this contented with the incorrect court,” Brack ruled. “Should Eastman beryllium acrophobic that the Government has entree to worldly protected by the attorney-client privilege oregon work-product doctrine, helium whitethorn record a question for alleviation successful the District of Columbia.”