Hold John Eastman accountable for Trump’s coup strategy

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On Thursday, the State Bar of California announced that it is initiating disciplinary proceedings against Donald Trump’s attorney John Eastman and seeking his disbarment for his role in efforts to subvert the 2020 election. This announcement comes 16 months after we led bipartisan efforts to file ethics complaints against Eastman in California.

By enabling former presidents with lawless election attacks, Eastman, a former law professor at Chapman University, violated his duty to uphold our laws. In the process, he endangered our democracy and helped inspire the mob that later violently attacked the US Capitol.

The bar disciplinary charges contain 11 counts, ranging from failure to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States, and including making false and misleading statements that constitute acts of moral turpitude, dishonesty , and corruption.

The bar announced its investigation of Eastman in March 2022. It alleges that Eastman knew, or was grossly negligent in not knowing, that his actions were not supported by the law or the facts. However, he engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, execute, and assist Trump in implementing a strategy to subvert the legitimate results of the election by blocking the number of electoral votes of certain state.

The complaints against Eastman involve his role as the lawyer-champion of Trump’s attempted coup strategy. He suggested that Vice President Mike Pence deny or delay the certification of President Bidens election on January 6, 2021. Pence does not have the authority to deny or delay electoral votes and has only performed a ceremonial leadership role in the count .

Eastman wrote memos saying Pence had the power to deny Bidens certification or otherwise tamper with it. Luckily for us, on the advice of better lawyers, Pence declined to go along.

Eastman clearly knew he was giving illegal advice. According to Pence, Eastman admitted to my general counsel that denying electoral votes was a bad idea and that any attempt to do so would be quickly overturned by a unanimous Supreme Court. This guy didn’t even believe what he was telling the president.

The liability for Eastman is long overdue. More than two years have passed since the plot he hatched on Trump and others led to the uprising and storming of the Capitol. Until he is disbarred or suspended, Eastman is free to practice law in the state of California.

Eastman’s behavior was well described by federal District Judge David O. Carter, who called the effort to overturn the election a coup in pursuit of a legal theory that Eastman helped provide. That was then followed by a Houses committee January 6 referring Eastman, Trump and four others to the US Department of Justice for criminal investigation.

Eastman remained defiant in the face of much scrutiny of his behavior. This past week, he was quoted in an interview as saying he was not backing down from claims of election fraud. Ahead of the November 2022 midterms, he is actively advising an audience of right-wing activists in New Mexico to aggressively file complaints and challenge the polls.

The news that the bar is now taking action is critically important to the defense of the rule of law and the integrity of the legal profession. The next step is for the State Bar Court to schedule disciplinary proceedings. If the State Bar Court judge recommends a suspension or disbarment, Eastman can appeal it to the California Supreme Court, which must approve the recommendation.

Accountability is one of the most powerful tools we have to prevent another attack on our country. Swift action from the bar is critical to prevent Eastman from continuing to undermine both the legal profession and our democracy and to warn other lawyers not to take this dangerous path.

Norm Eisen is executive chair of the States United Democracy Center, served as President Obama’s ethics czar and was special impeachment counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in 2019-20. Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, and current counsel at Lawyers Defending American Democracy. Christine P. Sun is a senior vice president of the States United Democracy Center.

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