Trump lawyer Herschmann testified that on the morning of Jan. 6 he received a call from. [57], In early December 2020, Trump contacted Eastman, asking him to challenge the results of the 2020 United States presidential election before the Supreme Court. Kowalke and NJP lawyer Goriune Dudukgian argued Eastman's lifetime membership in the far-right group made him disloyal and therefore ineligible to hold office in Alaska under the state . 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. [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. Eastman is the author of the so-called coup memo, a six-point plan to overturn the election results. According to Eastman, he caught COVID-19 at that time. [110][111][107], On June 22, 2022, several FBI agents approached him as he was leaving a New Mexico restaurant and, pursuant to a warrant, seized his phone. In 2017, Mr. Eastman steered a lawsuit by Mr. McCartney against Sony/ATV, the music publisher (now known as Sony Music Publishing), to regain his share of the United States copyrights in Beatles songs that he wrote with Mr. Lennon, citing an amendment to federal law that allows creators to recapture those rights after set periods. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". [66] In a video taken secretly and made public that same month, Eastman suggested he believed that Pence's actions served Washington politics. Its unclear if Eastman had information on the high court's usually-secretive deliberations. [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. John Eastman was a little-known but respected conservative lawyer. An. stands onstage as Rudy Giuliani speaks in Washington on January 6, 2021. Chapman University law professor John Eastman. Thomas was the justice assigned to hear emergency arguments from cases in Georgia. [90] Eastman referred to an "antifa and BLM guy" who had been arrested after the Capitol incursion, an apparent reference to John Earle Sullivan, a Utah man who some characterized as an "antifa leader" who had supposedly infiltrated the rally crowd to instigate the insurgency. [68][69][70], On January 2, 2021, Eastman joined Trump, the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and others in a conference call with 300 Republican legislators from Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to brief them on allegations of voter fraud, with the objective of the legislators attempting to decertify their states' election results. [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". Eastman is accused of making false and misleading statements regarding alleged election fraud including claims he made at a rally at the Ellipse outside the White House that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He asserted she could not be a U.S. citizen by birth despite being born in Oakland, California, if neither of her parents was a permanent resident at the time of her birth. Eastman faces 11 disciplinary charges, all arising from allegations that he was behind Trumps plan to obstruct the count of electoral votes. 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". Eastman wasnt shy about his beliefs: He spoke at a Trump rally near the White House just hours before the January 6 riot, telling a crowd of Trump supporters we know there was fraud and election officials had ignored or violated state law, while he stood alongside Rudy Giuliani (Eastman has argued the rally, unlike the riot, was peaceful). Any discipline such as suspension or disbarring then has to be approved by the California Supreme Court. Federal authorities had not identified the man as an antifa activist. [112][113] Federal judge Robert Brack rejected Eastman's request on July 15. Lawyer John Eastman has been hit with disciplinary charges and should be disbarred for his alleged involvement in former President Donald Trumps bid to throw out the 2020 election results, according to the California State Bar. Eastman also grabbed Trumps attention ahead of the 2020 election, when he suggested in a Newsweek op-ed that Bidens then-running mate Kamala Harris might not be eligible for the vice presidency because its unclear what immigration status her parents held when she was born in California. A letter signed by three of the Beatles in 1969 during a legal fight over control of the groups business empire. 26, 2023, at 5:38 p.m. That lawyer, John Eastman, is a member in good standing of the conservative legal establishment. [49], In August 2020, Newsweek published an op-ed by Eastman questioning 2020 vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris's eligibility for the office. As a result of information received from credible sources and numerous court rulings, by no later than on or about December 9, 2020, respondent knew, or was grossly negligent in not knowing, that there was no evidence upon which a reasonable attorney would rely of election fraud or illegality that could have affected the outcome of the election, and that there was no evidence upon which a reasonable attorney would rely that the election had been stolen by the Democratic Party or other parties acting in a coordinated conspiracy to fraudulently steal the election from Trump, the notice continues. [75][76][77], On January 6, Eastman spoke alongside Giuliani at the "Save America" rally that preceded the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol and asserted without evidence that balloting machines contained "secret folders" that altered voting results. Eastman also made similar statements outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021 before the Capital riot ensued. They developed a specialty in working with pop musicians whose business had suffered under previous representatives. ", "John Eastman Named National Organization For Marriage Chairman", "Claremont Institute - Board of Directors", "What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute? The bar review of John Eastman's conduct in the run-up to and aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun, and how the case unfolds is uncertain. John Eastman, an ally of Donald Trump who authored a memo outlining how to . "[101] Eastman's assertion of privilege for 101 emails was rejected by Judge David O. Carter in March 2022, who ordered the emails to be produced to the committee. [95], In an effort to withhold 19,000 emails subpoenaed by the committee, in January 2022 an attorney for Eastman told a federal judge that they were protected by attorney-client privilege because Eastman had been representing Trump while participating in the January 2 conference call with state legislators; the January 3 Oval Office meeting with Trump and Pence; and while working as a member of the Trump team at the Willard Hotel command center. [57] Eastman called the vice president "the ultimate arbiter" of the election in his two-page memo. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Pompeo calls $31 trillion national debt indecent at CPAC, Trump recites Pledge of Allegiance in collaboration on new song with J6 Prison Choir, Bidens laughable, late-to-the-game crackdown on massive COVID fraud, 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley heckled by Trump supporters at CPAC, made similar statements outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. Such designations typically reflect a candidate's current employment or elected office. 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. Mr. McCartney half-complied: He appeared in a suit, but no tie. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Government from the Claremont Graduate School. Aside from Mr. McCartney, they were best known for working with Mr. Joel in the late 1980s and early 90s, when he sued his former manager and lawyer. [124][125] Four days later, Chapman announced that Eastman had agreed to retire from the university, and the university's president, Daniele C. Struppa, said that Eastman and the university had "agreed not to engage in legal actions of any kind, including any claim of defamation that may currently exist, as both parties move forward". [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 Charles Eastman (born 1960) is an American lawyer who is the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the conservative think tank Claremont Institute. The State Bar of Californias Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona intends to seek Eastmans disbarment for alleged violations of Business and Professions Code section 6106, which punishes making false and misleading statements that constitute acts of moral turpitude, dishonesty, and corruption., There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, Cardona said in a statement. 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.. [62], On December 22, 2020, Ivan Raiklin, an attorney and associate of Michael Flynn, tweeted to Trump a two-page memo entitled "Operation Pence Card," which Trump retweeted two days later. John Eastman graduated from Stanford University in 1961 and from the New York University School of Law in 1964. 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. Eastman responded that he was speaking two miles away from the Capitol building. A private Facebook group named "FrontLiners for Liberty," which included over 50 people and was created in August 2020, showed Thomas as an administrator. He served on the faculty of Chapman University in California until last year, worked as dean of the universitys law school from 2007 to 2010 and is now a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank. Trump lawyer John Eastman, left, is seen in a video during a hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection on Thursday. It owns many valuable copyrights, including the music publishing rights to songs by Buddy Holly, Fats Waller and Carl Perkins and from hit Broadway shows like Annie and Grease.. As Trumps legal avenues to overturn his reelection loss grew thinner, Eastman offered up an unconventional strategy based on fringe legal theories: Eastman argued Vice President Mike Pencein his role as Senate presidentcould refuse to count some of Bidens electoral votes during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. 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. 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. Emailus. 193726).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 . Lawyer John Eastman, who advised former President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn the 2020 election, forcefully pushed back on claims made by the House Select Committee investigating 6 . Mr. McCartney had hired the Eastmans, father and son, to be his representatives and tried to persuade his three bandmates to put them in charge of the groups affairs. Stop the Presses!" An entertainment attorney for high-profile clients, he was central to a battle over control of the Beatles business empire in the last days of the band. The right-wing attorney who authored " coup memos " for Donald Trump and supporters on how to scuttle the presidential election lost a court battle Friday to hold back his documents from the House select committee investigating last year's Jan. 6 insurrection. "[58][59][60] Two days later, on December 12, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, finding that Texas did not have standing saying Texas "has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections. The California bar determined Eastman made, "false and misleading statements that constitute acts of dishonesty, and corruption." [22], Eastman graduated from the Dallas-area Lewisville High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Dallas. [55] Lorelei Laird, in an Above The Law article, pointed out that Eastman was arguing that Harris was not even a U.S. I still cannot understand why Paul acted as he did, George Harrison said in an affidavit. [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. 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. At Wikipedia, don't even ask. Trump lawyer John Eastman, left, is seen in a video during a hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection on Thursday. [121] On January 26, 2023, Eastman was charged with multiple disciplinary counts by the State Bar of California. A day after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, the conservative lawyer John Eastman went looking for someone in then-President Donald Trump's orbit to discuss an issue involving his effort . 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. (Jim Bourg/Reuters) In extensive conversations with NR, the . 6." The group's front page carried a banner stating, "the enemy of Americais the radical fascist left." Mr. Eastman was the brother of Linda McCartney, Mr. McCartneys first wife, and Lee was her father. The briefing included Giuliani; John Eastman, the attorney behind the theory that Vice President Mike Pence could reject the Electoral College results; White House trade adviser Peter Navarro .