Ex-Trump Election Lawyer John Eastman Has Lost His Law License
Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
John Eastman, the former Donald Trump election lawyer behind the so-called “fake electors” scheme, officially lost his ability to practice law in the state of California on Tuesday.
The California State Bar recommended last Wednesday that Eastman be disbarred for his actions surrounding the 2020 election and the pro-Trump efforts to overturn that election.
“Eastman’s wrongdoing was committed directly in the course and scope of his representation of President Trump and the Trump Campaign,” State Bar Court Judge Yvette D. Roland ruled. “Eastman’s actions transgressed those ethical limits by advocating, participating in and pursuing a strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that lacked evidentiary or legal support.”
“In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that Eastman be disbarred,” the judge wrote, adding she was dismayed by Eastman’s “unwillingness to acknowledge ethical lapses regarding his actions, demonstrating an apparent inability to accept responsibility.”
Eastman has appealed the ruling and the California Supreme Court will make the final decision to either uphold Eastman’s disbarment or offer a different punishment.
Eastman, whose legal advice led to the pro-Trump effort to replace Biden electors with fraudulent Trump electors, has also been indicted in both federal court in Washington DC and in Fulton Country, Georgia — alongside Trump. Eastman pushed the notion that if then-Vice President Mike Pence refused to certify the presidential election on January 6th, GOP-led states could then throw out the Biden electors and submit the Trump electors to be certified — despite the actual results of the election. Pence refused to entertain the idea, called it unconstitutional, and instead certified the election.
ABC News reported that “Investigators for the California bar said Eastman made ‘demonstrably false and misleading statements’ with the memos he drafted that became the framework for the ‘legal strategies’ aimed at having then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.” Eastman said through a spokesman that he stands by his work to overturn the 2020 election.
UPDATE: John Eastman’s official status with the California bar has been updated to reflect his inability to practice law in California: https://t.co/Pqg9casLL9 pic.twitter.com/UEMyXwqSWN
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 2, 2024
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that while Eastman has lost his law license, his disbarment is still pending appeal and a final decision by the California Supreme Court. We apologize for any confusion.
