Judge says former Trump lawyer should be debarred
28 March 2024, 01:24
He faces 11 disciplinary charges over a legal strategy to interfere with President Joe Biden’s election victory certification.
A judge has recommended that conservative lawyer John Eastman lose his California law licence over his efforts to keep former president Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election.
Mr Eastman faces 11 disciplinary charges in the state bar court stemming from his development of a legal strategy to have then-vice president Mike Pence interfere with President Joe Biden’s victory certification.
State Bar Court of California Judge Yvette Roland’s recommendation will go to the California Supreme Court for a final ruling on whether he should be disbarred.
Mr Eastman’s lawyer Randall Miller said he and his client were “digesting the decision” ahead of a more complete statement.
The California State Bar is a regulatory agency and the only court system in the US dedicated to legal discipline.
Mr Eastman separately faces criminal charges in Georgia in the case accusing Mr Trump and 18 allies of conspiring to overturn the Republican’s loss in the state.
Mr Eastman, who has pleaded not guilty, has argued he was merely doing his job as Mr Trump’s lawyer when he challenged the results of the 2020 election.
He has denounced the case as targeting lawyers “for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients.”
The State Bar of California alleged that Mr Eastman violated the state’s business and professions code by making false and misleading statements that constituted acts of “moral turpitude, dishonesty, and corruption.”
In doing so, the agency says he “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.”
In her decision, Ms Roland wrote: “In view of the circumstances surrounding Mr Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that Mr Eastman be disbarred.”
Mr Eastman was a close adviser to Mr Trump in the run-up to the January 6 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
He wrote a memo outlining a plan for Mr Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes for Mr Biden while presiding over the joint session of Congress on January 6.
Mr Eastman’s lawyer said that his client never intended to steal the election but was considering ways to delay electoral vote counting so states could investigate allegations of voting improprieties.
