Trump's election attorney John Eastman says FBI seized his phone
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[June 28, 2022]
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI seized the
phone of former U.S. President Donald Trump's election attorney, John
Eastman, last week, the lawyer said in a court filing on Monday.
Eastman disclosed the search and seizure in a lawsuit he filed in
federal court in New Mexico. In the lawsuit, Eastman asked a federal
judge to tell the Justice Department to return his property, destroy
records it had obtained and block investigators from being allowed to
access the phone.
The FBI and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for
comment on Monday.
"On the evening of June 22, 2022, federal agents served a search on
movant while movant was exiting a restaurant," the filing said. "Movant's
phone — an iPhone Pro 12 — was seized."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/28/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
The filing claimed that Eastman was "forced" to provide biometric data
to open the phone.
He was not provided a copy of the warrant until after his phone was
seized, according to the filing, which also claimed that the FBI agents
appeared to be executing the warrant "issued at the behest" of the
Justice Department.
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![](../images/062822PIX/news_u43.jpg)
John Eastman, former attorney for former U.S. President Donald
Trump, is seen speaking in a video displayed above during the fourth
of eight planned public hearings of the U.S. House Select Committee
to investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol
Hill in Washington, U.S. June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/28/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_062409.png)
Eastman in particular has been under intense scrutiny
in relation to the probes into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S.
Capitol by Trump supporters after the former president falsely
claimed that he had won the 2020 election.
Eastman spoke at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally where Trump gave a fiery
speech alleging election fraud and urging supporters to march on the
Capitol.
Eastman also wrote a memo outlining how, in his view, then-Vice
President Mike Pence could thwart formal congressional certification
of Trump's re-election loss. Pence ultimately declined to follow
Eastman's advice.
The House of Representatives Jan. 6 select committee has held five
hearings on last year's deadly attack and will hold a sixth one on
Tuesday.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Tim Ahmann;
Editing by Sandra Maler)
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