It is likely that former US President Donald Trump committed a crime.

A federal judge in the US state of California came to this conclusion on Monday evening.

The case concerned the question of whether attorney John Eastman could invoke the duty of confidentiality.

A congressional investigative committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021 had asked Eastman to turn over his email correspondence with the White House from that time to lawmakers.

Eastman fought back in court, but now suffered a defeat.

According to his lawyer, Eastman intends to follow the verdict, even if he "respectfully" disagrees with the judge.

Oliver Kuehn

Editor in Politics.

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The committee now receives more than 100 emails Eastman exchanged with the White House around Jan. 6.

Many of these are not yet publicly known and, despite being handed over to Congress, will not be published for the time being.

Judge David Carter, however, described some of the documents in his verdict.

The main concern was how Trump could still remain in office after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Eastman had theorized that Vice President Mike Pence should simply not recognize those coming from states that Trump had narrowly lost in the -- rather ceremonial -- counting of electoral college votes.

Trump still talks about

For Judge Carter, these were efforts that raise suspicions that Eastman and Trump were conspiring to obstruct an official congressional ceremony — the counting of the electoral college vote — and to cheat the American people of the actual election results.

"This was a coup seeking a legal basis," Carter wrote in the verdict.

Everyone could see that the procedure was criminal.

The United States is built on the peaceful transfer of power.

It started with George Washington, who after the Revolutionary War "laid down his sword to make democratic elections possible." If Eastman and Trump's plan had worked, "it would have ended the peaceful transfer of power forever, American democracy and the Constitution undermined",

For the time being, the verdict has no consequences for Donald Trump, since he was not involved in the process.

His spokesman Taylor Budowich said after the verdict was read: "This absurd and unfounded ruling by a [ex-President Bill] Clinton-appointed judge in California is further evidence of the left's weaponizing all branches of state violence against President Trump." In the medium term, however, the ruling could still be important as it increases pressure on the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into the former president for his role in the January 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol by an angry mob.

Minister Merrick Garland had announced that he would investigate the events comprehensively and charge anyone against whom there was evidence.

The pressure to act could become even greater if the investigative committee decides that charges against Trump are justified and then transfers the evidence collected to the ministry.

The Committee itself cannot initiate criminal proceedings.

He has been investigating the processes since July 2021 and can issue court-proof summonses, but has no possibility to impose sanctions if these are not followed.

On Monday, lawmakers voted to submit a contempt-of-congress case to the Justice Department against former Trump adviser Peter Navarro and former deputy press secretary Dan Scavino.

In their refusal to testify, the two cite the former president's so-called executive privilege.

However, President Biden rescinded this for Navarro and Scavino.

If the Ministry of Justice initiates proceedings, the two face prison sentences of up to one year.