In recent weeks, there's been a major development surrounding the 2021 Capitol Hill riot.

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol says Trump and associates engaged in a criminal conspiracy.

A California-based federal judge said that Trump likely committed felonies in connection with the events of that day.

The House panel investigating the Capitol insurrection has scored a major win in its bid to see emails from a Trump advisor.

That advisor is the guy who spoke right before Trump at the January 6th rally, a guy named John Eastman.

We know there was fraud, traditional fraud that occurred.

Before the insurrection, he was known as a fringe figure in conservative circles.

But now, Eastman's not so fringe anymore.

I'm Gustav Ariano. You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the LA Times. I'm Gustav Ariano.

You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the LA Times.

It's Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

Today, in the second part of a two-part series,

who exactly is John Eastman?

No. Back with us is my L.A. Times colleague Sarah D.W.ire. She covers the U.S. Department of Justice and National Security with a focus on January 6th.

Sarah, welcome again to The Times. Thanks for having me.

So U.S. District Court judge David O. Carter emphasized in his ruling that John Eastman,

who was a law professor here in California, that Eastman played a significant role in Trump's

attempt to hold on to the White House.

So what does Judge Carter say Eastman did?

So Eastman was the architect at the legal theory at the root of Trump's attempt to overturn the election.

And the key thing was his theory that Pence had the legal authority to send the electoral votes back to the states.

Yeah, you want to talk about being an architect.

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