Lawyer who wrote memo on how to overturn the election is suing Verizon and the Jan. 6 committee to keep investigators from his phone records

• John Eastman was close to Trump near the end of his presidency and spoke at a pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6.
• He refused to comply with a subpoena from the congressional Jan. 6 committee in early December.
• On Tuesday, he sued Verizon and the committee to protect his subpoenaed phone records.

John Eastman, the lawyer who tried to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election, is suing both Verizon and the House January 6 committee to keep investigators from accessing his phone records.

Shortly after the November election, Eastman, then a law professor at Chapman University, wrote a memo laying out how then-Vice President Mike Pence could keep Trump in power by refusing to certify Joe Biden’s victory. (Pence ultimately certified Biden’s victory.)

Eastman became close to Trump toward the end of his presidency, and The New York Times reported that the pair discussed the plan with Pence in the Oval Office in January. On January 6, Eastman also addressed Trump supporters at the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the storming of the Capitol.

On November 8, the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot subpoenaed Eastman, but he declined to participate, citing his Fifth Amendment rights.

On Tuesday, Eastman sued Verizon and the committee, saying the lawmakers subpoenaed the network provider for his cellphone records without grounds. 

“The subpoena seeks nine categories of information on Dr. Eastman’s personal cell phone use over a three-month period. The subpoena does not contain any provision for protection of attorney client privilege,” the lawsuit said.

“Public statements by J6 Committee members make clear that the Committee is attempting to exercise a law enforcement function, rather than genuine legislative activity. The United States Congress has no power to issue subpoenas for law enforcement purposes.”

Verizon and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the January 6 committee, did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

So far, the committee has issued subpoenas for call records from more than 100 people in connection with the January 6 riot, CNN reported.

One of them, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, sued the committee last week after it subpoenaed him for documents and testimony, and Verizon, his cell phone carrier, for his metadata.

The lawsuit came a day after his lawyer told the committee he would no longer cooperate with its investigation. On Tuesday, the House voted to hold Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee.

Four organizers of Trump’s January 6 rally have also sued Verizon and the committee, saying in court filings Monday that the committee did not have the right to access their cellphone data.

Justin Caporale, Tim Unes, Megan Powers and Maggie Mulvaney said the committee “lacks a lawful purpose and seeks to invade the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to privacy and to confidential political communications.”

“The Plaintiffs are four private citizens who were not involved in any federal government activities or programs,” they said.