Bad News for Former Trump Lawyer John Eastman

Calif. judge finds the alleged author of the Jan. 6 memo preliminarily culpable of misconduct
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2023 6:27 AM CDT
Ex-Trump Lawyer Is One Step Closer to Being an Ex-Lawyer
Attorney John Eastman talks to reporters after a hearing in Los Angeles on June 20.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Multiple defendants have already made guilty pleas regarding the Georgia case that alleges former President Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election. There are quite a few stragglers who haven't yet been offered plea deals, including ex-Trump attorney John Eastman, who now finds himself getting some not-great news in California. Per Bloomberg Law, via the Daily Beast, a judge at the State Bar Court on Thursday found Eastman responsible for moral and legal misconduct, a development that could leave him without a law license and have far-reaching consequences in his criminal case in Georgia's Fulton County.

Judge Yvette Roland made a "preliminary finding of culpability" against Eastman—allegedly the person who penned Trump's coup memo that laid out steps then-Vice President Mike Pence could take to interfere in the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021—in the 11-count trial. Roland also noted that the court would soon hear rebuttal and aggravation testimony, with punishment to follow.

Newsweek reports that the 63-year-old Eastman may end up disbarred over this and speculates that Eastman could be "the next domino to fall against Donald Trump," a thought bolstered by MSNBC analyst Joyce Vance. "If John Eastman loses his license in the bar proceeding, it incentives [sic] him (or would incentivize a rationale person) to plead & cooperate in the criminal case to avoid prison (since he's already lost his license)," Vance tweeted on Thursday, after Roland's decision. Eastman has denied any wrongdoing in the misconduct trial. Both sides have until Nov. 22 to submit their final briefs before disciplinary measures are decided. (More John Eastman stories.)

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