Eastman Trumps personal lawyer when he was in office penned a six-step legal plan claiming then-Vice President Mike Pence didnt have to accept the election results in certain swing states, which Pence rejected. [20][21] In December 2022, the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack recommended Eastman be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with Trump and potentially others. [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. "[118][119] In March 2022, the State Bar of California announced that since September 2021, it had been investigating claims of possible violations of law and ethics rules by Eastman. "My dear brother-in-law, John Eastman, has passed . [2][3] He is a former professor and dean at the Chapman University School of Law. [85][86], Appearing on CNN on January 23 to argue that the Trump rally did not incite the siege of the Capitol, Eastman asserted that "a paramilitary group as well as antifa groups" had been organizing "three or four days ahead of time". During the 2020 presidential campaign, Eastman wrote a controversial op-ed in August 2020 that falsely suggested the then-presumed Democratic nominee for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was not an American citizen and thus not legally eligible for the position. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's campaign paid John Eastman in January for unspecified "legal services." The payment was made to Constitutional Counsel Group, a firm founded by the Trump lawyer.. The court had already rejected a major election challenge, Texas v. Pennsylvania, 13 days earlier, and the participants in Eastman's email exchange were discussing whether to file papers in the hopes that four U.S. Supreme Court justices would agree to hear a Wisconsin case. The group's front page carried a banner stating, "the enemy of Americais the radical fascist left." [26], Eastman served as an attorney for the State of South Dakota, representing it in a denied petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in a constitutional challenge to federal spending. In addition to his son Lee, he is survived by his wife, Josephine; another son, Jay; a daughter, Louise; two sisters, Louise Weed and Laura Malcolm; and 11 grandchildren. Scholars say there's no VP eligibility debate", "The White Supremacist "Scholars" Pushing the Kamala Harris Birther Lie", "Newsweek apologizes for op-ed questioning Harris eligibility", "Ahead of Jan. 6, Willard hotel in downtown D.C. was a Trump team 'command center' for effort to deny Biden the presidency", "During Jan. 6 riot, Trump attorney told Pence team the vice president's inaction caused attack on Capitol", "Trump lawyer John Eastman said 'courage and the spine' would help Pence send election to the House in comments before January 6", "Trump Lawyer Blamed Pence for Violence as Rioters Stormed Capitol - John Eastman, the author of a memo that some in both parties liken to a blueprint for a coup, sent a hostile email to the vice president's chief counsel as the mob attacked", "Washington Post: Trump lawyer John Eastman blamed Pence for January 6 violence by refusing to block 2020 election certification", "The most shocking new revelation about John Eastman - He and Trump were not just pressing forward despite the mob; they apparently were trying to leverage it", "Memo shows Trump lawyer's six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election", "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN DIVISION JOHN C. EASTMAN Plaintiff, vs. BENNIE G. THOMPSON, et al., Defendants. [36] Eastman finished second in the three-way Republican primary with 34.2% of the vote, behind Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who received 47.3%. John Eastman, the former Donald Trump lawyer and possible future Trump co-defendant, has added the potential loss of his California law license to his list of troubles. A fed-up Herschmann claims he insisted that Eastman only talk about an orderly transition in the future, and encouraged Eastman to find a great fing criminal defense lawyeryoure going to need it.. John was a great man, Mr. McCartney wrote on Twitter last week, along with a photo of him with Mr. Eastman in yoga poses. A federal judge in California previously found that Trump and Eastman more likely than not violated two felony statutes in their attempts to overturn the election: obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States. [27], Eastman has represented the North Carolina legislature and the State of Arizona in unsuccessfully petitioning the Supreme Court in cases involving same-sex marriage,[28] abortion,[29] and immigration. John Eastman, the Trump-allied lawyer who wrote memos urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election results, said in a court filing Monday that federal agents seized his. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Mr. Eastman was the brother of Linda McCartney, Mr. McCartneys first wife, and Lee was her father. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Their connection was both professional and personal. Newsweek defended the column, while acknowledging that they were "horrified that this op-ed gave rise to a wave of vile Birtherism directed at Senator Harris". Lawyer John Eastman had claimed the situation had turned him into a "pseudo . Federal authorities had not identified the man as an antifa activist. With the Eastmans guidance, Mr. McCartney also acquired ownership of all of his recordings and songwriting rights since the breakup of the Beatles. Eastman first emerged as a Trump-affiliated lawyer in December 2020, when he filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to let Trump intervene in a longshot lawsuit to toss out election results in four swing states won by Joe Biden, which ultimately failed. It could have meant the popularly elected president could have been thwarted from taking office. Another lawyer, John Eastman, responded that he was in agreement, saying that if Thomas were to act, "that may be enough to kick the Georgia Legislature into gear because I've been getting a . God do I love this guy. The State Bar of California's Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced today the filing of a Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) against attorney John Charles Eastman (State Bar No. says there is no evidence antifa participated in storming the Capitol", "Giuliani uses unfounded 'Antifa' argument to defend Trump", "Facebook posts wrongly claim left-wing activist, antifa 'incited' US Capitol mob", "Man who shot video of fatal Capitol shooting is arrested, remains focus of political storm", "Eastman takes the Fifth with Jan. 6 committee", "Trump lawyer pleaded the fifth on 146 Capitol riot questions", "Trump lawyer ordered to respond to January 6 committee subpoena for his Chapman University emails", "Trump lawyer John Eastman turns over 8,000 emails to January 6 committee and withholds 11,000", "Jan. 6 committee concludes Trump violated multiple laws in effort to overturn election", "Jan. 6 panel concludes Trump likely broke laws in trying to overturn election", "Jan. 6 committee alleges Trump, allies engaged in potential 'criminal conspiracy' by trying to block Congress from certifying election", "Trump lawyer knew plan to delay Biden certification was unlawful, emails show", "Trump likely committed felony obstruction, federal judge rules", "Trump Allies Continue Legal Drive to Erase His Loss, Stoking Election Doubts", "John Eastman reportedly pressures Wisconsin legislature to decertify 2020 election", "Eastman provides new details of Trump's direct role in legal effort to overturn election", "Judge sends another trove of Eastman emails to Jan. 6 committee", "Ginni Thomas corresponded with John Eastman, sources in Jan. 6 House investigation say", "The House Jan. 6 panel wants to interview the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas", "Ginni Thomas-tied Facebook group 'FrontLiners for Liberty' could be a new focus in Jan. 6 investigation", "Speaker at meeting of Ginni Thomas group called Biden's win illegitimate long after Jan. 6, video shows", "Federal Agents Seized Phone of John Eastman, Key Figure in Jan. 6 Plan", "John Eastman searched and had phone seized by federal agents last week, he says", "John Eastman loses emergency request to protect his phone data from DOJ investigators", "Federal prosecutors obtain warrant to search lawyer John Eastman's cell phone in January 6 criminal probe", "Judge says Trump knew his voter fraud numbers were false, orders ex-lawyer to give more emails to Jan. 6 committee", "Trump lawyers saw Justice Thomas as 'only chance' to stop 2020 election certification", "Group files complaint with California bar association against John Eastman, lawyer who advised Trump on election challenges", "Request for Investigation of John C. Eastman, California Bar Number 193726", "California bar investigating Trump lawyer for ethic breaches", "Trump lawyer John Eastman's law license in California may be in jeopardy", California seeks to disbar Trump adviser John Eastman over January 6 charges, "Letters to the Editor: Chapman University faculty: John Eastman doesn't belong on our campus", "John Eastman's Statement on His Retirement from Chapman University's Fowler School of Law", "California professor who spoke at Trump rally retires", "CU Boulder cancels courses taught by conservative scholar John Eastman, citing single-digit enrollment", "CU Boulder strips John Eastman of public duties following professor's speech at Trump rally that preceded Capitol riot", "Jan. 6 Committee Refers Former President Trump for Criminal Prosecution", "VIPs expect special treatment. The next year, after briefly working in the office of the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, he and his father set up Eastman & Eastman. Eastman briefly met with Trump campaign advisors in a Philadelphia hotel room the weekend after the 2020 presidential election. He said he would continue with his Spring 2021 position as Visiting Professor of Conservative Thought and Policy at the University of Colorado and intended to then devote full-time effort to his position as director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. He has also appeared on conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt's Fox News program The Hugh Hewitt Show, commenting on law. [72] On January 5, 2021, Eastman met with Pence in the Oval Office to argue, incorrectly, that the vice president has the constitutional authority to alter or otherwise change electoral votes. Its unclear if Eastman had information on the high court's usually-secretive deliberations. Jacob wrote to Eastman, "Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege." [41][42] He is a director of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which brings election lawsuits. Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. [87][88][89] The FBI had announced two weeks earlier there was no evidence of antifa involvement in the siege. Chapman School of Law professor John Eastman testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 16, 2017. Carter concluded it showed the Trump legal team had decided to "evade judicial review to overturn a democratic election" and "forged ahead with a political campaign to disrupt the electoral count. His editing was reverted due to conflict-of-interest rules of Wikipedia, and on January 9 he appealed on the article's talk page, where some changes were approved but others were denied.[132]. Axios also criticized Eastman for dismissing the eligibility concerns of 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz, born in Calgary, Canada, in a 2016 National Review op-ed, claiming they were "silly". Eastman still persisted with his election fraud claims long after that date, through at least Jan. 6, 2021. He was a dean and professor at the Chapman University School of Law. 6." But of all of them, the lawyers were most closely associated with Mr. McCartney, whom Mr. Eastman represented for more than 50 years. Eastman laid out this plan in a pair of January 2021 memos obtained by news outlets last year, and reportedly spoke with Pence and his team in the leadup to January 6 to win him overbut Pence and his advisors firmly rejected Eastmans argument. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said his son Lee, a partner in their longstanding Manhattan family law firm, Eastman & Eastman. A professor at Chapman University Law School in Southern California until mid-January 2021, and once a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Eastman was a former . Ten documents related to three December 2020 meetings by a secretive group strategizing about how to overturn the election, which included what Carter characterized as a "high-profile" leader. The regulatory group said itll seek the revocation of Eastmans law license after charging him with 11 ethics violations for allegedly making false statements in public, and for misleading courts. Paul McCartney took to social media to pay respects to his brother-in-law John Eastman, who passed away from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday at age 83. John Eastman '64, an entertainment lawyer who represented Paul McCartney, the family of Willem de Kooning, and the estate of Francis Bacon, among other clients, passed away on August 10 at the age of 83. The article was harshly criticized as both a bizarre reading of constitutional law and a possible wink to the birther conspiracy theory, which falsely contended former President Barack Obama wasnt born in the United States. The 11 charges arise from allegations that Eastman engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states, the bar wrote in a press release. Any discipline such as suspension or disbarring then has to be approved by the California Supreme Court. Eastman subsequently implored Vice President Pence to violate the Electoral Count Act to delay certification of the election,[16] via Pence's legal counsel Greg Jacob, who responded by calling Eastman a "serpent in the ear of the president of the United States". Mr. Klein had a reputation as a ferocious negotiator and, as Mick Jagger once described him, a gangster figure the opposite of the refined Eastmans, whose townhouse office in Manhattan was lined with museum-quality paintings by de Kooning and others. And one day later, Eastman called White House attorney Eric Herschmann to discuss legal efforts in Georgia, Herschmann told the January 6 committee in testimony released this week. Both were legal quagmires that flouted the U.S. Constitutionand Trump had a lawyer for each one. Stephen K. Bannon welcomed Conservative attorney, legal scholar, and professor of law John Eastman on Monday's War Room: Pandemic to explain his attorney's letter to Congress citing the illegitimacy of his subpoena regarding the January 6 committee hearings. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Mr. Eastman and his father, who was also named Lee, worked with a long roster of big-name clients over the years, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Bowie, Elton John and the estates of Tennessee Williams and the painter Francis Bacon. [117], On October 4, 2021, a bipartisan group of attorneys, including two former federal judges and two former justices of the California Supreme Court, filed a complaint with the State Bar of California asking for an investigation of Eastman relating to "his representation of former President Donald J. Trump in efforts to discredit and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Eastman has drawn scorn from some of his colleagues. Before he urged Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally hand the 2020 election to Donald Trump, right-wing lawyer John Eastman, who represented Trump after the election, floated a somewhat. To break Mr. Kleins grip over the band, and to secure Mr. McCartneys independence, Mr. Eastman masterminded a lawsuit, filed in London on Dec. 31, 1970, to dissolve the Beatles partnership agreement. The Notice of Disciplinary Charges alleges that Mr. Eastman violated this duty in furtherance of an attempt to usurp the will of the American people and overturn election results for the highest office in the land an egregious and unprecedented attack on our democracy for which he must be held accountable.. [38], Eastman is chairman of the Federalist Society's practice group on federalism and separation of powers. There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, said State Bar of California chief trial counsel George Cardona, according to a report by Law & Crime. The California bar determined Eastman made, "false and misleading statements that constitute acts of dishonesty, and corruption." [92][93], Eastman asserted his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination on December 1, 2021, in a letter in which he refused to testify to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. (Jim Bourg/Reuters) In extensive conversations with NR, the . The California bar slapped former President Donald Trumps attorney John Eastman with nearly a dozen disciplinary charges for false and misleading statements alleging fraud in the 2020 election. Since then, he has tangled with the committee over its demands for thousands of records, arguing to Judge Carter many of these documents are protected by attorney-client privilege. But the committee argued Eastman's use of university email destroyed any attorney-client privilege to keep the documents confidential. A private Facebook group named "FrontLiners for Liberty," which included over 50 people and was created in August 2020, showed Thomas as an administrator. Trump did not issue a pardon to Eastman. Giuliani will join his colleague John Eastman in the dubious distinction of . John Eastman, left, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, appears with Rudolph W. Giuliani at the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the Capitol insurrection. [109], Days after it became known Eastman and Thomas had communicated by email, Eastman posted on his new Substack blog one email that he captioned, "OMG, Mrs. Thomas asked me to give an update about election litigation to her group. [56], This op-ed was cited by the New York Times as helping Eastman come to the attention of Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign adviser. That lawyer, John Eastman, is a member in good standing of the conservative legal establishment. "[98][99][100] Douglas Letter, general counsel to the House, said about Eastman asking Pence to delay Biden's certification, "It was so minor it could have changed the entire course of our democracy. "There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power." After CNBC asked Thomas about the group, its public pages were either made private or deleted. Eastman's brief included an array of unfounded claims and asserted "It is not necessary for [Trump] to prove that fraud occurred," and asserted it was enough to show that elections "materially deviated" from the intent of state lawmakers, adding, "By failing to follow the rule of law, these officials put our nation's belief in elected self-government at risk. Carter found that one Eastman email exchange showed Trump had sworn under oath that the number of alleged voting fraud cases his attorneys cited in a Georgia federal suit was accurate, though he knew it was not. [50], All prominent legal scholars disagreed with Eastman's position, and many compared it to the birtherism theory against President Barack Obama. citizen. [24] He was also the unsuccessful 1990 Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives in California's 34th congressional district. Tuesday, March 1, 2022 Categories: News Releases The State Bar of California's Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced today that since September 2021, his office has been conducting an investigation of John Charles Eastman (State Bar No. On or about December 1, 2020, Attorney General Barr, who headed the United States Department of Justice, which had monitored state elections for fraud and illegality, publicly stated that to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.'. ", "Here's Kamala Harris' birth certificate. John Eastman and his wife Elizabeth C'de Baca Eastman. Eastman has received widespread attention for his role as attorney to then president Donald Trump during which he suggested that vice president Mike Pence could refuse the results of some states' election results during the 2020 United States presidential election. [32][33][34], On February 1, 2010, Eastman resigned as dean of the Chapman University School of Law to pursue the Republican nomination for California Attorney General. The Supreme Court has held this since the 1890s. The Daily Mail reports that John died on Tuesday, August 9th, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Carter wrote that Trump and Eastman likely conspired in criminal obstruction of Congress, adding, "If Dr. Eastman and President Trumps plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. [57] Pence rejected Eastman's argument and instead agreed with his counsel, Greg Jacob, and conservative legal scholars and other advisors, such as John Yoo and J. Michael Luttig. As part of their preparations for the case, Mr. Eastman suggested that his brother-in-law wear a suit and tie to court. The email content in question was a comment by an unidentified attorney that litigating a case regarding the January 6 session in Congress might "tank the January 6 strategy" and so the Trump legal team should avoid the courts. [91] Black Lives Matter Utah had for months disassociated itself from Sullivan on concerns he might be associated with the Proud Boys. If Dr. Eastman and President Trumps plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution., Eastmans interest in the election didnt seem to evaporate after the January 6 riot. Its not clear when Eastman formally became Trumps attorney, but he revealed in a legal filing last month that he sometimes communicated directly with Trump, and the former president sent the attorney at least two hand-written notes.. The committee has now authorized Jessica Yates, the attorney regulation counsel, to file a formal complaint against Ellis with the presiding disciplinary judge, according to Yates. The judge ordered the emails released to Eastman's legal team to identify which they asserted were privileged, before allowing a third party to scrutinize them. The judge further denied Eastman's second choice, "Taxpayer Advocate/Attorney", but accepted his third choice, "Constitutional Law Attorney". Mr. Eastman served on the boards of a number of prominent organizations, including the American Museum of Natural History, and two music groups, the National Music Publishers Association and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP. John L. Eastman, McCartney's Lawyer in Beatles' Strife, Dies at 83 An entertainment attorney for high-profile clients, he was central to a battle over control of the Beatles' business. As the president's actual attorneys backed away from his coup, Eastman rushed in to . It Wasn't Pretty", "Fact check: No, Pence can't overturn the election results", "AP FACT CHECK: Trump's false claims, fuel on a day of chaos", "FACT CHECK: What Pence And Congress Can And Can't Do About The Election", "Chapman University will not fire law professor who spoke at pro-Trump Capitol rally", "Chapman University President Condemns Controversial Law Professor Who Aided Trump", "CU Boulder won't fire conservative scholar who spread "repugnant" conspiracy theories at D.C. rally", "Faculty call for firing of Chapman University professor who spoke at pro-Trump rally", "What if there had been no adults in the room on January 6? Eastman first emerged as a Trump-affiliated lawyer in December 2020, when he filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to let Trump intervene in a longshot lawsuit to toss out election results in. Daily Docket An in-depth look at the day's most important headlines concerning the. The Eastmans became involved in the fight over the Beatles business empire in early 1969. Then he became influential with Donald Trump and counseled him on how to retain power after losing the election. Anyone can read what you share. [57] Eastman circulated a two-page outline and memo to the Trump legal team several days later, followed by a more extensive memo later. [68] Eastman and the Thomases are longtime friends. Trump, himself a one-time believer in the birther theory, reacted to the op-ed by telling reporters Eastman is a brilliant lawyer.. At Wikipedia, don't even ask. John Eastman, a law professor at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University who had drawn increasing scrutiny over his controversial involvement with some of Donald Trump's more.
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