Trump Adviser John Eastman Testifies In California Disbarment Hearing Over Role In Trying To Overturn 2020 Election

Conservative attorney John Eastman testified before the State Bar of California this week in a proceeding aimed to strip him of his license to practice law in the state.

Eastman was one of Donald Trump’s lawyers in 2020 and played a significant role in helping the former president to attempt to overturn the results of that year’s election, which Trump still claims was stolen by President Joe Biden and Democratic officials.

Eastman allegedly devised a plan that involved former Vice President Mike Pence invalidating the 2020 results during a joint session of Congress that convened to count the electoral votes.

For months, a federal grand jury in Washington has been meeting in secret and hearing testimony from witnesses, including Pence. He reportedly told the jury that he felt immense pressure from the Trump campaign to halt Congress’ certification of Biden as the winner of the election.

Now, Eastman faces 11 disciplinary charges and testified in his own defense. The hearing will last at least eight days and could end with Eastman being disbarred, although the final decision will be made by the California Supreme Court.

Eastman has been a member of the California Bar since 1997. The California Bar is the only court system in the country that dedicates itself to attorney discipline.

Eastman violated California’s business and professions code by making false statements that constitute acts of “moral turpitude, dishonesty and corruption,” the State Bar wrote in a filing.

In a statement from Eastman’s attorney, Randall Miller, in January, he argued that the State Bar’s decision “is part of a nationwide effort to use the bar discipline process to penalize attorneys who opposed the current administration in the last presidential election. Americans of both political parties should be troubled by the politicization of our nation’s state bars.”

Eastman disputes “every aspect” of the allegations, according to Miller.

Article by Ava Lombardi