In brief
The California Supreme Court has disbarred John Eastman after a lengthy investigation by the state bar. Eastman had developed a plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Joe Biden's election win. The ruling underlines the importance of legal integrity, with bar officials stating that Eastman's actions were incompatible with the ethical standards expected of attorneys in the state.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California attorney who aided President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results has lost his license to practice in the state.
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered John Eastman disbarred and his name stricken from the state roll of attorneys. It caps a yearslong effort by the state bar to strip Eastman of his law license after he developed a legal strategy to have then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
A judge for the State Bar Court of California in 2024 recommended that he lose his California law license. Eastman argued he was being punished for simply giving legal advice.
George Cardona, chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, stated that the decision followed clear evidence that Eastman had advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public.
The Court’s order underscores that Mr. Eastman’s misconduct was incompatible with the standards of integrity required of every California attorney.
Eastman’s attorney, Randall Miller, said the decision “raises pivotal constitutional concerns” and they plan to seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling, he said in a statement, “departs from long-standing United States Supreme Court precedent protecting First Amendment rights, especially in the attorney discipline context.”
The States United Democracy Center, which filed an early ethics complaint against Eastman, cheered the decision. Christine P. Sun, a senior vice president for the nonprofit, said, His unethical actions have had real, lasting consequences for our democracy.
Eastman was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He wrote a memo laying out a plan for Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes for Biden while presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in the White House.
Prosecutors looking to strip Eastman of his law license depicted him as fabricating a baseless theory and making false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the results of the election.
Eastman’s actions have drawn heavy scrutiny, and he currently faces criminal charges in Georgia related to allegations of conspiring to overturn the election results. The California State Bar is the only court system dedicated solely to attorney discipline in the U.S.
