Mary Trump has welcomed the proposal of an attorney discipline judge to disbar John Eastman, a judge involved in efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss, for “misconduct.”
The California State Bar filed a complaint against Eastman in 2023, prompting State Bar Judge Yvette Roland to announce the verdict on Wednesday. Roland found Eastman guilty on 10 of the 11 counts charged against him, but the close Trump loyalist has condemned the recommendation and promised to fight.
It comes amid a spate of civil and criminal court proceedings targeting some of Trump’s key figures in his attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The former president, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024, continues to claim that the election was rigged against him, despite multiple court and independent election monitors’ rejections of this assertion.
On X, then known as Twitter, Mary Trump, the former president’s estranged niece, shared a piece of Roland’s decision and advocated for action against other members of Trump’s legal team. She stated, “BREAKING: ‘In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that John Eastman be disbarred.'”
“Good. “Now do Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mike Johnson, and the other lawyers who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.”
Newsweek contacted John Eastman for comment at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday by email to The Claremont Institute, where he is a senior fellow. We also asked Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and Mike Johnson for comments.
Following Judge Roland’s recommendation, Eastman’s legal team issued a statement announcing plans to appeal.
They stated: “Dr. Eastman contends that his handling of the legal concerns he was requested to review following the November 2020 election was based on solid legal precedent, preceding presidential elections, constitutional text research, and considerable scholarly literature. Dr. Eastman’s 2020 approach is the same as the one that lawyers use every day and everywhere; in fact, it is the essence of what lawyers do. They are ethically obligated to be enthusiastic advocates for their clients, a duty that Dr. Eastman regards as absolute.”
On his blog, Eastman stated: “We will appeal the decision, of course, and hopefully the California Bar Review Court, the California Supreme Court, or the U.S. Supreme Court will step in to put a stop to this ‘lawfare’ that has become a serious threat to the First Amendment, the right of controversial clients and causes to legal representation, and more broadly to our adversarial system of justice.”
Eastman is also facing criminal accusations, along with Trump and his fellow attorneys, Giuliani, Powell, and Ellis, for allegedly breaking the law in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump, Eastman, and Giuliani all denied any misconduct.
Powell and Ellis both pleaded guilty as part of plea deals.
Mary Trump, a psychologist, is an outspoken critic of her uncle’s political ambitions. She said Trump had “never prayed in his life” when he aired a video endorsing the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which costs $59.99.
Her latest book, Who Could Ever Love You, about her “experiences growing up in America’s most controversial family,” is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 10, 2024.
