The committee has now authorized Jessica Yates, the attorney regulation counsel, to file a formal complaint against Ellis with the presiding disciplinary judge, according to Yates. Have a tip or story idea? John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who helped lead former President Donald Trump's legal efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, is facing disciplinary action in . "[61] On December 13, 2020, 159 Chapman University faculty members (including two from the law school) published a statement condemning Eastman for the filing. I still cannot understand why Paul acted as he did, George Harrison said in an affidavit. His father, who had changed his name from Leopold Epstein, set up a successful legal practice representing high-profile musicians, artists and writers, among them the bandleader Tommy Dorsey and the songwriters Harold Arlen and Hal David. Lawyer John Eastman had claimed the situation had turned him into a "pseudo . That lawyer, John Eastman, is a member in good standing of the conservative legal establishment. With the Eastmans guidance, Mr. McCartney also acquired ownership of all of his recordings and songwriting rights since the breakup of the Beatles. He was 83. John Eastman, a Republican lawyer who allegedly played a leading role in the overall coup scheme, reportedly pleaded the Fifth with both the Jan. 6 committee and a Georgia special grand jury . On that day, Eastman emailed a Pence aide claiming the attack on the Capitol happened because the vice president did not do what was necessary, the Washington Post reported. [120] Eastman's attorney said he expected Eastman to be exonerated. But John Lennon and the other Beatles had selected another New Yorker to manage the group: Allen Klein, who had worked with Sam Cooke and the Rolling Stones. The conflict between Mr. Klein and the Eastmans, and the disagreement within the group over those men, would consume the Beatles for years to come, even after their official breakup in 1970. [4] He ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for California's 34th congressional district in 1990, and for the office of California Attorney General in 2010. Carter noted one email in particular that contained what he found was likely evidence of a crime and ordered it disclosed under the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. He was a dean and professor at the Chapman University School of Law. On Thursday, McCartney, 80, posted to Instagram to share that Eastman, who was the brother of McCartney's late wife Linda McCartney, has died. [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%. 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. While it is unlikely that conservative lawyer John Eastman will testify publicly before the Jan. 6 committee, his name and the legal advice he gave former . On or about December 1, 2020, Attorney General Barr, who headed the United States Department of Justice, which had monitored state elections for fraud and illegality, publicly stated that to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.'. 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. [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. Trump lawyer Herschmann testified that on the morning of Jan. 6 he received a call from. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. His mother had inherited a fortune from the Lindner department store in Cleveland. Any discipline such as suspension or disbarring then has to be approved by the California Supreme Court. 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. [27], Eastman has represented the North Carolina legislature and the State of Arizona in unsuccessfully petitioning the Supreme Court in cases involving same-sex marriage,[28] abortion,[29] and immigration. 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. Jacob wrote to Eastman, "Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege." The other Beatles responded to the lawsuit in frustration. [71][72] That same day, together with Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn, he appeared on Steve Bannon's podcast The War Room and promoted the idea that state lawmakers needed to reconsider the election results. The court had already rejected a major election challenge, Texas v. Pennsylvania, 13 days earlier, and the participants in Eastman's email exchange were discussing whether to file papers in the hopes that four U.S. Supreme Court justices would agree to hear a Wisconsin case. John Eastman, the mediocre lawyer who apparently participated in a treasonous effort to veto the 2020 U.S. Presidential popular vote and electoral count, resides in Santa Fe, which annoys many . [121] On January 26, 2023, Eastman was charged with multiple disciplinary counts by the State Bar of California. 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. Paul McCartney took to social media to pay respects to his brother-in-law John Eastman, who passed away from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday at age 83. He was fierce when it came to protecting artists rights, Mr. Joel said in a statement to The New York Times, and I credit him with whatever longevity I have achieved in my career.. 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. At Wikipedia, don't even ask. The entertainment lawyer John L. Eastman in 2011. 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. Separately, in one December 2020 email, Eastman alluded to a heated fight over whether the Supreme Court should take up an election challenge, the New York Times reported Wednesday. His brother-in-law Paul McCartney his sister Linda Eastman was Mr. McCartneys first wife was a client for more than 50 years. [17] On January 13, 2021, Eastman retired from the Chapman University faculty after the controversy created by his having spoken at the Trump rally. [41][42] He is a director of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which brings election lawsuits. The January 6 committee subpoenaed Eastman in November. [13][14] Pence did not accept Eastman's argument. [56], This op-ed was cited by the New York Times as helping Eastman come to the attention of Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign adviser. That was what Dr Eastman was urging. [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. Eastman is the author of the so-called coup memo, a six-point plan to overturn the election results. As the House January 6 panel unpacks the results of its months-long probe, lawmakers are expected to spend part of their Thursday hearing examining the role of John Eastman, a once-obscure legal scholar who vaulted into former President Donald Trumps inner circle ahead of the Capitol riot by pushing dubious legal strategies to keep Trump in office. [22], Eastman graduated from the Dallas-area Lewisville High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Dallas. Lee Eastman died in 1991, and Linda McCartney died in 1998. - No, John Eastman, you can't edit your own article here", "Born in the USA-Rethinking Birthright Citizenship in the Wake of 9/11. The California bar determined Eastman made, "false and misleading statements that constitute acts of dishonesty, and corruption." He is a founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute. Eastman . Despite their enormous success, the Beatles were then on the brink of insolvency. Newsweek defended the column, while acknowledging that they were "horrified that this op-ed gave rise to a wave of vile Birtherism directed at Senator Harris". As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. To break Mr. Kleins grip over the band, and to secure Mr. McCartneys independence, Mr. Eastman masterminded a lawsuit, filed in London on Dec. 31, 1970, to dissolve the Beatles partnership agreement. John Lindner Eastman was born on July 10, 1939, in Manhattan, and grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y., the eldest of four children of Lee and Louise Lindner Eastman. [4] Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's campaign paid John Eastman in January for unspecified "legal services." The payment was made to Constitutional Counsel Group, a firm founded by the Trump lawyer.. 193726), a California licensed attorney. 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. And Eastman wasn't the only one of Trump's legal henchman who knew the plan wasn't legally viable. 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. ET: This story has been updated to include more information about the disciplinary charges from the notice filed by the bar. They stated there was no connection between the op-ed and the birther movement. 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. Eastman asserted this had been reported by The Washington Post days earlier, though the article he appeared to reference did not support his assertion and did not mention antifa. His editing was reverted due to conflict-of-interest rules of Wikipedia, and on January 9 he appealed on the article's talk page, where some changes were approved but others were denied.[132]. [97], As Eastman sought to withhold some emails, in March 2022 the committee continued to seek them, stating in a federal court filing that the evidence it had acquired "provides, at minimum, a good-faith basis for concluding" Trump and his campaign violated multiple laws in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States by attempting to prevent Congress from certifying his defeat. [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. "[53] Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe was similarly dismissive, telling The New York Times "I hadnt wanted to comment on [Eastmans idea] because it's such an idiotic theory. No law professor played a bigger role in Donald Trump's plot to overturn the election than John Eastman. August 25, 2022 John Eastman, a prominent entertainment lawyer whose clients included the musicians Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, the Abstract Expressionist painter Willem de Kooning, and. 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. [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". A University of Chicago Law School graduate who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Eastman has taught constitutional law for decades. For California attorneys, adherence to the U.S. and California Constitutions is their highest legal duty. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Article Mr. Eastman was the brother of Linda McCartney, Mr. McCartneys first wife, and Lee was her father. Eastman emailed Giuliani, saying "I've decided that I should be on the pardon list if that is still in the works." But Eastman seemed to initially enter Trumps orbit after a 2019 appearance on Fox News, which led Trump to invite Eastman to the Oval Office, the New York Times reported last year. Axios also criticized Eastman for dismissing the eligibility concerns of 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz, born in Calgary, Canada, in a 2016 National Review op-ed, claiming they were "silly". He later joined Chapman to teach constitutional law. 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.. The State Bar of California's Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced today the filing of a Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) against attorney John Charles Eastman (State Bar No. 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. John Eastman was a little-known but respected conservative lawyer. "[98][99][100] Douglas Letter, general counsel to the House, said about Eastman asking Pence to delay Biden's certification, "It was so minor it could have changed the entire course of our democracy. There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, said State Bar of California chief trial counsel George Cardona, according to a report by Law & Crime. Chapman University law professor John Eastman. [57] Eastman called the vice president "the ultimate arbiter" of the election in his two-page memo. The lawyer spoke at Trumps rally that day at the Ellipse. An. The Bar's investigation, announced Tuesday, March 1, focuses on whether Eastman "engaged in conduct in violation of California law and ethics rules governing attorneys following and in . Thomas was the justice assigned to hear emergency arguments from cases in Georgia. Since then, he has tangled with the committee over its demands for thousands of records, arguing to Judge Carter many of these documents are protected by attorney-client privilege. Mr. McCartney had tried to persuade his bandmates to allow Mr. Eastman to represent them. 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. 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. Filing of a complaint "typically takes 2-3 weeks after getting authorization," Yates wrote to Newsline in an email Wednesday evening. [37] Cooley advanced to the 2010 California Attorney General election, where he was defeated by Kamala Harris. Another lawyer, John Eastman, responded that he was in agreement, saying that if Thomas were to act, "that may be enough to kick the Georgia Legislature into gear because I've been getting a . [49], In August 2020, Newsweek published an op-ed by Eastman questioning 2020 vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris's eligibility for the office. Not only did he help me massively in my business dealings as my lawyer but as a friend he was hard to beat.. "[54] One day after publishing Eastman's op-ed, Newsweek published an opinion piece by legal scholar Eugene Volokh, titled "Yes, Kamala Harris is Eligible to be Vice President", in which Volokh argues that Harris is a "natural-born citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and is therefore eligible to be vice president. Eastman wrote: "the odds are not based on the legal merits but an assessment of the justices spines." [106], On June 7, Carter ruled that Eastman must disclose an additional 159 sensitive documents to the committee. [94] CNN reported Eastman met with the committee but invoked the Fifth Amendment 146 times. As the president's actual attorneys backed away from his coup, Eastman rushed in to . The article was harshly criticized as both a bizarre reading of constitutional law and a possible wink to the birther conspiracy theory, which falsely contended former President Barack Obama wasnt born in the United States. The group's front page carried a banner stating, "the enemy of Americais the radical fascist left." It could have meant the popularly elected president could have been thwarted from taking office. Thanks for contacting us. More than 60 courts rejected election fraud claims by Trump and his allies. John Eastman, a law professor at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University who had drawn increasing scrutiny over his controversial involvement with some of Donald Trump's more. [2][3] He is a former professor and dean at the Chapman University School of Law. John Eastman graduated from Stanford University in 1961 and from the New York University School of Law in 1964. Carter wrote that Trump and Eastman likely conspired in criminal obstruction of Congress, adding, "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. 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. Eastman also made similar statements outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021 before the Capital riot ensued. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The next year, after briefly working in the office of the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, he and his father set up Eastman & Eastman. It Wasn't Pretty", "Fact check: No, Pence can't overturn the election results", "AP FACT CHECK: Trump's false claims, fuel on a day of chaos", "FACT CHECK: What Pence And Congress Can And Can't Do About The Election", "Chapman University will not fire law professor who spoke at pro-Trump Capitol rally", "Chapman University President Condemns Controversial Law Professor Who Aided Trump", "CU Boulder won't fire conservative scholar who spread "repugnant" conspiracy theories at D.C. rally", "Faculty call for firing of Chapman University professor who spoke at pro-Trump rally", "What if there had been no adults in the room on January 6? He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. FBI seized the phone of former President Donald Trump's election attorney John Eastman last week, according to a new court filing from the conservative lawyer. Mr. Eastman served on the boards of a number of prominent organizations, including the American Museum of Natural History, and two music groups, the National Music Publishers Association and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP. The California bar directly connects Eastmans speech to the insurrection, saying he contributed to provoking a crowd to assault and breach the Capitol to intimidate then-Vice President [Mike] Pence and prevent the electoral count from proceeding., New York University law school professor and legal ethic expert Stephen Gillers termed the accusations against Eastman, "scathing," and that the Bar was charging him with failure to support the country's and California's constitutions, despite taking an oath to do so and, "The allegation that Eastman is guilty of 'moral turpitude'," is an attack on his personal and professional character. [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. 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, Cardona said. Advertisement. Chapman School of Law professor John Eastman testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 16, 2017. Eastman replied by blaming Pence and Jacob for refusing to block certification of Trump's loss in the election, writing, "The siege is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened." He has also appeared on conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt's Fox News program The Hugh Hewitt Show, commenting on law. [114] Federal investigators obtained a subsequent warrant to search the phone on July 12. 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. 26, 2023, at 5:38 p.m. Eastman faces 11 disciplinary charges, all arising from allegations that he was behind Trumps plan to obstruct the count of electoral votes. [2][5] He is a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. A private Facebook group named "FrontLiners for Liberty," which included over 50 people and was created in August 2020, showed Thomas as an administrator. Chesebro responded: "the odds of action before Jan. 6 will become more favorable if the justices start to fear that there will be 'wild' chaos on Jan. 6 unless they rule by then, either way." [128] The university also revoked some of Eastman's public-facing duties but permitted him to conduct scholarship. "[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. In the months following the election, however, the Trump campaign received information from numerous credible sources, including Attorney General of the United States William Barr and members of Trumps inner circle of advisors, that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud or illegality that could have affected the outcome of the election, the notice states. 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. An analysis of Eastman's profile in the nearly 40 years before he became President Trump's lawyer, along with interviews with more than a dozen friends and associates, reveal how Eastman's. Trump lawyer John Eastman takes Fifth at Georgia grand jury Key Points A lawyer who pushed to overturn the 2020 election loss of then-President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment. Bar discipline is an instrument ill-suited to . 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 . [24] He was also the unsuccessful 1990 Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives in California's 34th congressional district. The email content in question was a comment by an unidentified attorney that litigating a case regarding the January 6 session in Congress might "tank the January 6 strategy" and so the Trump legal team should avoid the courts. John Eastman, the former Donald Trump lawyer and possible future Trump co-defendant, has added the potential loss of his California law license to his list of troubles.