In a significant development, a California judge has issued a preliminary finding that attorney John Eastman violated professional ethics.
This verdict is part of the ongoing disbarment proceedings against Eastman, who is accused of aiding former President Donald Trump's attempts to contest the 2020 election results, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
The proceedings, initiated in June, have been extensive, featuring numerous hours of testimony from Eastman. Witnesses have included state election officials, constitutional law experts, former Bush administration attorney John Yoo, and Greg Jacob, former Vice President Mike Pence's legal counsel, as per Politico. Yvette Roland, the California State Bar Court Judge overseeing the case, stated that the case would progress with not only rebuttal testimony but also aggravation. This move allows state bar officials to present additional evidence supporting their bid to revoke Eastman's law license, as per Bloomberg Law.
The bar intends to present evidence in the next phase demonstrating the damage caused by false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and influenced by decisive fraud. This evidence includes specific instances of harassment of election officials and the undermining of public trust in election results and democratic institutions' legitimacy, as per court filings.
Eastman, however, defended his actions, stating that his comments at the January 6 rally were made in his capacity as a private citizen and are protected under the First Amendment. He also asserted that the proceedings have only reinforced his pre-existing beliefs about fraud in the 2020 election. "Trump didn't ask me to do that. I wasn't there as a lawyer. There as a private citizen," Eastman said, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
In a related development, Eastman has also been named as a co-defendant in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' racketeering case against Trump for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Several co-defendants in the case, including attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have accepted plea deals.
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