According to a Tuesday video released by the Jan. 6, committee, a White House lawyer said that he had warned a Trump-allied attorney that he should seek a criminal defense attorney because of his efforts to defeat the Georgia election results.
Eric Herschmann was at that time employed by the White House and said John Eastman reached out to him asking about the results in Georgia. This is the state President Joe Biden narrowly won. The former President Donald Trump attempted to overturn it.
In video of Herschmann's testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, Herschmann states that "he started to ask me about something concerning Georgia, preserving some thing potentially for appeal." "And I asked him, Are you out of your mind? Right? Right?
Herschmann claimed that he asked Eastman for the words. Later, he added: "Now, I'm going give you the best legal advice you've ever received in your life: Get an amazing f'ing criminal defense attorney. It's going to be very useful."
NBC News reached out to Eastman in an effort to get his opinion.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), introduced the video clip. She stated that the panel will look into how Trump conspired with Eastman and other people to reverse the 2020 election. "President Trump’s relentless effort on Jan 6th and in the days preceding, to press Vice President Pence to not count lawful electoral ballots," which she claimed likely violated two federal penal statutes.
Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Committee Chairman, mentioned possible criminal violations a day after he appeared to surprise his colleagues by stating that the panel would not make any criminal referrals. Others on the committee said that a decision was not yet made and Thompson seemed to retract his comments on Tuesday.
