A federal judge railed against former president Donald Trump attempt to subvert democracy attorney when he ruled that Mr Trump’s attorney John C Eastman must turn over emails that Mr Eastman attempted to withhold from the committee investigating the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.

       Judge David Carter, a judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, raised against Mr Trump in his ruling released on Monday.

       Mr Eastman served as Mr Trump’s attorney as he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results and drew up the infamous “Eastman Memo.” The memo featured a plot wherein then-Vice President Mike Pence would have interrupted the certification of Arizona’s certification by saying it had sent “multiple slates of electors” and then deferring the decision on the state until other states were certified and setting aside other states the Trump team disputed, which would reduce the number of electors to 454, with Mr Pence naming Mr Trump the president with 232 votes.

       Mr Pence ultimately rebuffed the plan, which was why rioters yelled “Hang Mike Pence” during the insurrection and Mr Carter cited the plot in his ruling. Mr Eastman has in turn refused to turn over documents related to the election plot or the riot and has asserted his Fifth Amendment rights.

       The former Chapman University professor had previously filed a complaint in the court in January and an application for a temporary restraining order against the university to prevent it from complying with a subpoena. Mr Carter also refuted the idea that the president and Mr Eastman had an attorney-client relationship.

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       “None of these documents includes Dr. Eastman’s client, President Trump, as a sender or recipient of the email,” he wrote. “Instead, all emails are sent from a third party to Dr. Eastman, and two of the emails blind copy (bcc) a close advisor to President Trump.”

       Mr Carter in turn ruled that 101 documents had to be turned in. He also said that Mr Trump tried to obstruct a Congressional proceeding, which is a federal felony.

       “Together, these actions more likely than not constitute attempts to obstruct an official proceeding,” he wrote.

       Similarly, Mr Carter criticised the effort to overturn the election.

       “The illegality of the plan was obvious. Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections,” he said. “Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election.”