Attorney John Eastman, one of the key architects of Donald Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election, on Thursday addressed the recommendation by a judge that he be disbarred for his role in advancing the former president’s plot to remain in power.
State Bar Court of California Judge Yvette Roland recommended last week that Eastman lose his license to practice law in the state due to “serious ethical violations.” These included making false statements that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to delay a count of electoral votes or refuse to certify them on Jan. 6, 2021, the judge said.
The California Supreme Court will have the final say on his disbarment.
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge yet before we get there,” Eastman said on the streaming program “The Absolute Truth With Emerald Robinson.”
The former Trump lawyer, who was admitted to the California State Bar in 1997, appeared dismissive of the case against him. Roland had found him culpable for 10 of the 11 disciplinary charges he faced over his involvement in efforts to undo Joe Biden’s presidential win four years ago.
“If the law is faithfully followed, this case should have never been brought in the first place,” Eastman said. “We have a disagreement on the facts of the 2020 election and we have a disagreement on constitutional interpretation on issues that have never been settled. That has never been the basis for disciplinary action.”
But Roland had argued that sanctioning Eastman was warranted “to protect the public and preserve the public confidence in the legal system.”
“While attorneys have a duty to advocate zealously for their clients, they must do so within the bounds of ethical and legal constraints,” Roland wrote in a 128-page decision. “Eastman’s actions transgressed those ethical limits by advocating, participating in and pursuing a strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that lacked evidentiary or legal support.”
Since Saturday, Eastman’s law license has been on “involuntary inactive” status pending a final decision by California’s high court. But on Wednesday, Eastman requested that Roland’s order be stayed, citing the high legal costs he is facing as he fights other cases against him. He said that if his suspension were not paused, he “would lose his ability to make a living as an attorney.” In turn, he added, this would cause him to lose the ability to defend himself over the charges he faces in a probe in Fulton County, Georgia.
Eastman is one of Trump’s co-defendants in a case led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Eastman has denied wrongdoing. He was also reportedly one of the unnamed co-conspirators listed in the former president’s indictment in a federal election interference case.
Elsewhere in Thursday’s interview, Eastman said that he was served a subpoena last week for his communications, including with Trump, by a number of U.S. Capitol Police officers who have sued the former president. The officers have claimed that Trump is responsible for injuries that they sustained during the 2021 insurrection in Washington.
“That’s part of the game,” Eastman said. “If they keep us tied up, spending our resources on defense against these things, then those are resources and time and talent that cannot be deployed in furthering elections for people who are sensible and want to get our country back on track.”