Undercover Video: Trump Lawyer John Eastman Admits His Jan. 6 Memo Really Was the Plan, Throws Pence Under the Bus

Sarah RumpfOct 27th, 2021, 5:59 pm
 
John Eastman at Claremont Institute gala

Screenshot via Lauren Windsor on Twitter.

Attorney John Eastman made a series of startling admissions in a video captured by an undercover reporter at a conservative gala this past weekend, including contradicting his prior claims denouncing his Jan. 6 memo, blaming former Vice President Mike Pence for not overturning the 2020 election because he was an “establishment guy,” and accusing the FBI of using antifa “plants” to instigate the Jan. 6 riot.

Eastman had penned a memo that urged Pence to block the certification of the Electoral College votes declaring Joe Biden the winner over former President Donald Trump, by refusing to accept the electors from several states that had voted for Biden, claiming they were in dispute. The plan was for Pence to then declare Trump the winner of the majority of the remaining Electoral College votes, or toss the decision to the then-Republican dominated House of Representatives.

Legal scholars widely panned the memo as a wildly incorrect interpretation of the Constitution, in no small part because the Vice President’s role in certifying the Electoral College votes is merely ceremonial. In a recent interview with National Review, Eastman seemed to concur, attempting to distance himself from the memo and calling its tactics “crazy” and not “viable.”

Lauren Windsor with Undercurrent TV took the video on Saturday at the annual gala for the Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which Eastman founded and currently chairs. Windsor has made a name for herself getting hidden camera video footage as she poses as a Trump supporter in conversations with Republicans. So far, she has released two clips out of at least three she plans to post showing her conversation with Eastman.

In the first video clip, Windsor tells Eastman she thought he was “really doing the Lord’s work” and that his memo was “solid in all of its legal arguments.” He responds positively to her flattery, smiling broadly.

Windsor says she “just was floored that Mike Pence didn’t do anything” even though Eastman had given him the “legal reasoning” to overturn the election in that memo.

“I know, I know,” replied Eastman.

“I mean, like, you know, supporter to supporter, like why do you think that Mike Pence didn’t do it?” Windsor asked.

“Well, ’cause Mike Pence is an establishment guy at the end of the day,” said Eastman, explaining that the establishment GOP in DC had “bought into this very myopic view that Trump is destroying the Republican Party.”

In a second video, Windsor captured Eastman saying that Trump had planned to go to the Capitol himself, but decided not to after the violence broke out. He also made a series of outlandish claims, pushing debunked conspiracy theories about alleged infiltration of the rioters by antifa and FBI. He also, as Windsor noted in a tweet, seemed to refer to violent paramilitary groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers that were among the rioters as “our guys.”

Windsor tweeted that she would be on The ReidOut on MSNBC later Wednesday evening to share some more of her video footage of her conversations with Eastman.

Watch the video clips above, via Undercurrent TV.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.