[128] The university also revoked some of Eastman's public-facing duties but permitted him to conduct scholarship. In 35-page notice of the disciplinary charges, the bars supervising attorney Duncan Carling wrote that Eastman had every opportunity to learn that his election fraud claims were baseless, including from top Trump officials. Thanks for contacting us. A University of Chicago Law School graduate who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Eastman has taught constitutional law for decades. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images). John C. Eastman, a conservative legal scholar from California, came up with a plan that would . "[107], On June 15, 2022, the Washington Post reported that the January 6 committee had recently acquired emails between Eastman and Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas,[108] and the New York Times reported that the committee had obtained the EastmanChesebro email exchange from December 24, 2020. [22], Eastman graduated from the Dallas-area Lewisville High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Dallas. "John was a great man," McCartney wrote in an Instagram post announcing Eastman's death. John Eastman on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Stop the Presses!" 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. 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.. Thomas was the justice assigned to hear emergency arguments from cases in Georgia. Even after the insurrection, Eastman was still trying to overturn the election Even after Jan. 6, Eastman was still talking about the 2020 election not yet being certain. John Eastman, the former brother-in-law of Paul McCartney, died at age 83 of pancreatic cancer, the former Beatle announced on social media on Thursday. citizen. "[123], On January 9, 2021, the chairman of Chapman's board of trustees and two other members (including former Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez) called on the university's president and provost and the law school's dean "to promptly take action against Eastman for his role in the events of Jan. A letter signed by three of the Beatles in 1969 during a legal fight over control of the groups business empire. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) 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. Eastman made the disclosure to claim attorney-client privilege to prevent the January 6 committee from obtaining 600 of his emails. During his time in law school, Eastman worked on the University of Chicago Law Review. [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. The well-known lawyer had known the former Beatles vocalist for over 50 years. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". That was what Dr Eastman was urging. An audience member asked, "Why do you think Mike Pence didn't do it?" Later in the day, when the rioters were expelled from the Capitol and Pence was again presiding over Congress, Eastman told Jacob in another e-mail that Pence should still refuse to certify the election results:[83] Now that the precedent has been set that the Electoral Count Act is not quite so sacrosanct as was previously claimed, I implore you to consider one more relatively minor violation and adjourn for 10 days to allow the legislatures to finish their investigations as well as to allow the full forensic audit of the massive amount of illegal activity that occurred here, Eastman wrote. Former lawyer of former President Donald Trump, John Eastman, appears on screen during the fourth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Jim Bourg/Reuters) In extensive conversations with NR, the . Exhibit N", "How Pence used 43 words to shut down Trump allies' election subversion on Jan. 6", "Chapman professor will retire after uproar over his speaking at Trump rally", "Law Prof Who Spoke at White House Rally Abruptly Retires Amid Calls for His Firing", "Federal Judge Finds Trump Most Likely Committed Crimes Over 2020 Election", "Judge: 'More likely than not' that Trump 'corruptly attempted' to block Congress from counting votes on January 6", "Jan. 6 committee sends DOJ historic criminal referral of Trump over Capitol riot", "The University of Chicago Law Review Volume 62 Masthead", "California's 34th Congressional District", "Dean John Eastman On The Powers Of The Senate Vis--vis The SCOTUS Vacancy", "Search - Supreme Court of the United States", United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, "Challengers Find the Road to Congress Is Uphill Struggle: Elections", "Eastman resigns as Dean of the Chapman University School of Law", "2 AG hopefuls from O.C. 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. Yates declined to answer . Its unclear if Eastman had information on the high court's usually-secretive deliberations. Eastman briefly met with Trump campaign advisors in a Philadelphia hotel room the weekend after the 2020 presidential election. 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. Lawyer John Eastman had claimed the situation had turned him into a "pseudo . 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. In March 1971, the judge ruled in Mr. McCartneys favor, appointing a receiver for the Beatles business interests until the dissolution of their partnership could be negotiated, which came several years later. "My dear brother-in-law, John. Mr. Eastman was the brother of Linda McCartney, Mr. McCartneys first wife, and Lee was her father. Exclusive: Trump's Team Setting Up Eastman to Take Blame for Jan. 6. "[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. [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. Federal authorities had not identified the man as an antifa activist. Have a tip or story idea? John Eastman is an American lawyer with an estimated net worth of $5 million. Attorney John Eastman (left) speaks next to Then-President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021. Eastman responded that "Mike Pence is an establishment guy" who fears that Trump is "destroying the inside-the-Beltway Republican Party. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history, Carter wrote in a March ruling. (Reuters) -California attorney regulators said on Thursday they will seek to disbar attorney John Eastman over his involvement in former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. 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. 193726), a California licensed attorney. [103][104], In May 2022, the University of Colorado, where Eastman was a visiting professor, released an email Eastman sent to Pennsylvania legislator Russ Diamond in December 2020. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Article He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. [121] On January 26, 2023, Eastman was charged with multiple disciplinary counts by the State Bar of California. An. Several news outlets reported Wednesday the committee got emails between Eastman and Ginni Thomas, a right-wing activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who pushed to overturn Bidens winbut the emails contents arent known. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [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. 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. John Eastman, a lawyer and fellow at a right-wing think tank, is now desperately downplaying the memos he wrote before January 6 laying out how then-Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election and subvert the will of the American people. 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). The state bar of California charged Eastman, a former personal lawyer to Trump, with 11 counts of ethics violations, including misleading courts and making false public statements about voter. [115], Judge Carter ruled in October 2022 that Eastman must turn over an additional 33 documents to the January 6 committee, including eight he determined were ineligible for attorney-client privilege because they related to possible criminal activity. [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%. 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. Eastman attorney Randall Miller said in a lengthy statement that Eastman "disputes 'every aspect' of the action that has been filed against him by the State Bar," and alleged the charges were. The finding came in the context of civil litigation involving discovery by the Jan. 6th Committee. [25], Following law school, he clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court of the United States; he then was an attorney with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, specializing in civil and constitutional litigation.