Judge says FBI can unlock the phone of Trump lawyer who orchestrated fake electors plot

The lawyer who orchestrated the plot to send fake electors to Congress and keep former President Donald Trump in the White House must turn over the contents of his phone to federal investigators, the Washington Examiner reports.

A New Mexico federal judge ruled that investigators can move forward with examining the contents of John Eastman‘s phone as part of their probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Investigators seized Eastman’s phone as he was leaving a restaurant last month.

Eastman subsequently tried to get his phone back through legal means, but U.S. District Judge Robert Brack rejected that request and gave the FBI the go-ahead to unlock the phone.

“Because there is no evidence that the Government has searched the phone or plans to search it without the benefit of a Filter Team, and because the warrant specifies that no search of the phone will occur until further order of the court, Eastman fails to show a likelihood of success” that his arguments will hold up, Brack wrote in his ruling.

Eastman was previously unsuccessful in keeping the Jan. 6 committee from accessing his emails, eventually turning over thousands of pages in documents.

Read the full report over at the Washington Examiner

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.