In a ruling issued Monday, a federal judge said that former President Donald Trump “more likely than not” broke the law by "corruptly" attempting to obstruct the certification of Joe Biden’s win on Jan. 6, 2021.

What You Need To Know

  • A federal judge wrote in a ruling Monday that former President Donald Trump “more likely than not” committed crimes in his attempt to obstruct the certification of Joe Biden’s win on Jan. 6, 2021

  • The judge's comments came in a civil ruling which ordered attorney John Eastman to turn over documents to the House Select Committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, a major win for the panel

  • Judge David Carter also called for further investigation into the violent insurrection, writing: "If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself"

  • Neither Trump, nor Eastman, have been charged with any crime

“Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote in his ruling Monday. 

The judge's comments came in a civil ruling which ordered attorney John Eastman to turn over documents to the House Select Committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. The ruling is a major win for the Jan. 6 panel, which is attempting to probe the deadly insurrection fueled by Trump's false claims of election fraud.

In his ruling, Judge Carter ordered Eastman, a Trump ally, to hand over more than 100 documents to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Eastman had attempted to shield the release of the documents, claiming attorney-client privilege, but the panel argued that there is a legal exception allowing the disclosure of communications regarding ongoing or future crimes.

Neither Trump, nor Eastman, have been charged with any crime.

In his order, the judge summarized some of the documents Eastman attempted to withhold from the panel, including one he described as "a chain forwarding to Dr. Eastman a draft memo written for President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani."

"The memo recommended that Vice President Pence reject electors from contested states on January 6," Carter, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote. "This may have been the first time members of President Trump’s team transformed a legal interpretation of the Electoral Count Act into a day-by-day plan of action."

"The draft memo pushed a strategy that knowingly violated the Electoral Count Act, and Dr. Eastman’s later memos closely track its analysis and proposal," he continued. "The memo is both intimately related to and clearly advanced the plan to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021."

"Because the memo likely furthered the crimes of obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, it is subject to the crime-fraud exception and the Court ORDERS it to be disclosed," Carter added.

"The illegality of the plan was obvious," Carter writes. "Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections."

"Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election," he continued. "As Vice President Pence stated, 'no Vice President in American history has ever asserted such authority.'"

"Every American – and certainly the President of the United States – knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed," he wrote, adding: "President Trump knowingly tried to subvert this fundamental principle."

Carter also called for further investigation into the violent insurrection, writing: "If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself."

The trove of documents the panel has publicly released so far, which include some emails already retrieved from Eastman, offers an early look at some of the panel’s likely conclusions, which are expected to be submitted in the coming months. The committee says it has interviewed more than 650 witnesses as it investigates the violent siege by Trump supporters, the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries.

The House does not have the power to bring formal charges against the former president. That power lies with the Justice Department, which is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection and has not indicated whther or not it is considering seeking charges against Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.