The purpose of what lawyers refer to as a “privilege log” is specifically to identify claims of privilege while avoiding disclosing the substance of client materials to the prying eyes of those who, like the January 6 committee, seek to undermine the attorney-client relationship.  Judge Carter found Dr. Eastman’s privilege logs perfectly adequate to dismiss a majority of the January 6 Committee’s attempts to subvert attorney client privilege.

Two of the documents the January 6 Committee has seen fit to publicly disclose are emails that contain attorney work product (which is properly redacted) as well as some irrelevant banter among the lawyers.  The third is an email transmitting the fourth—a communication from Dr. Eastman’s client that was directly related to discussions about the substance of the brief that was filed the very next day.  While Judge Carter previously ruled that the attachment itself was not a privileged communication—a ruling that we complied with despite viewing it as incorrect—the Committee itself had held its objection to the transmittal email in abeyance until it notified counsel for Dr. Eastman that it was renewing its objections to all 576 documents it had previously held in abeyance, at which time we conducted an additional review in light of Judge Carter’s prior rulings and then promptly produced what we determined could be produced in light of the prior rulings.  In other words, these are far from being examples of what the Committee falsely claims to be Dr. Eastman’s “consistently unreliable” assertions of privilege.

Dr. Eastman, like all lawyers, is under a solemn obligation to protect client confidences.  The January 6 Committee is under no such obligation to keep the full results of its investigation secret from the public.  Dr. Eastman continues to urge all Americans to join him in calling on the Committee to release the full results of its investigation, including evidence not perceived to be favorable to the Democratic party’s electoral fortunes.  As Justice Louis Brandeis once noted: “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant.”