A California judge overseeing attorney John Eastman’s disbarment proceedings issued a “preliminary finding” Thursday that he violated professional ethics by helping former President Donald Trump’s effort to challenge the 2020 election, according to Bloomberg Law.
The proceedings, which began in June, have included dozens of hours of Eastman’s testimony and featured witnesses that include state election officials, constitutional law experts, former Bush administration attorney John Yoo and former Vice President Mike Pence’s legal counsel Greg Jacob, according to Politico. California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland said Thursday that Eastman’s case would “move forward with not only rebuttal testimony but aggravation,” allowing state bar officials to present further evidence backing their effort to remove Eastman’s law license, according to Bloomberg Law.
For the next phase, the bar plans to “submit evidence of harm flowing from false claims that 2020 presidential election was ‘stolen’ and effected by outcome-determinative fraud, including harassment of specific election officials and undermined public trust in election results and the legitimacy of democratic institutions,” according to court filings.
Eastman said Thursday that his remarks at the rally on Jan. 6 were made as a private citizen and are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. He also said the proceedings have “only confirmed” his preexisting beliefs regarding 2020 election fraud.
“Trump didn’t ask me to do that. I wasn’t there as a lawyer. There as a private citizen,” Eastman said, according to Bloomberg Law.
Eastman was also charged as a co-defendant in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering case against the former president for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Multiple co-defendants, including attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have accepted plea deals in the case.
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