Judge recommends disbarment for John Eastman, one of Donald Trump's lawyers challenging 2020 election results

A California Bar Court judge recommended disbarment Wednesday for John Eastman, one of the architects of former President Donald Trump’s strategy to steal the 2020 election

Judge Yvette Roland's decision means Eastman will be ineligible in three days to practice law, although he has a couple of avenues for potential review of the ruling.

"In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends Eastman be disbarred," Roland wrote.

Eastman could ask the bar court's review department ? and potentially the state Supreme Court ? to review the decision. His lawyer, Randall Miller, said they would go to the review court and if they get an adverse decision, "keep moving up from there."

“Dr. Eastman maintains that his handling of the legal issues he was asked to assess after the November 2020 election was based on reliable legal precedent, prior presidential elections, research of constitutional text, and extensive scholarly material,” Miller said. “They are ethically bound to be zealous advocates for their clients – a duty Dr. Eastman holds inviolate.”

The advocacy group States United, which filed the complaint against Eastman in January 2023, welcomed the decision.

“This is a big deal," said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of the States United Democracy Center, said in a statement. "When he helped Donald Trump try to overthrow the results of a free and fair election, John Eastman put his personal agenda above the decision of American voters. He broke his oath to uphold the Constitution, and he betrayed the legal profession."

What was Eastman accused of doing?

Eastman helped develop the strategy to recruit Republicans in key swing states to serve as fake presidential electors despite President Joe Biden winning the states. Congress could then either recognize the GOP electors and hand the election to Trump or throw the dispute to the House of Representatives, where Republicans could name Trump president, under the strategy.

But Vice President Mike Pence refused to participate in recognizing the fake electors when certifying the vote Jan. 6, 2021.

In an Oval Office meeting with Pence, Eastman acknowledged the Supreme Court would likely rule unanimously against the strategy, Pence counsel Greg Jacob said in sworn testimony.

Miller, Eastman's lawyer, defended him in the bar court as "a renowned constitutional scholar, professor, and former Dean." Miller argued that Eastman sought to "zealously represent the interests of his client," Trump.

But Roland, the judge, compared Eastman's actions unfavorably with Donald Segretti, a lawyer imprisoned during the Watergate scandal for his political sabotage on behalf of former President Richard Nixon.

"The scale and egregiousness of Eastman’s unethical actions far surpasses the misconduct at issue in Segretti," Roland wrote.

A judge earlier called Eastman's actions 'more likely than not' unlawful

U.S. District Judge David Carter ruled in a civil lawsuit over Eastman’s emails the "illegality" of the scheme was "obvious" and that Eastman and Trump "more likely than not" acted unlawfully in trying to obstruct Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kenneth Chesebro, one of Eastman’s and Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election racketeering case, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false documents for helping develop the fake elector scheme.

Republican electors – three in Georgia, 16 in Michigan and six in Nevada – face state charges.

Eastman has pleaded not guilty to eight charges in Georgia, including conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to file false documents.

“Dr. Eastman maintains that his handling of the legal issues he was asked to assess after the November 2020 election was based on reliable legal precedent, prior presidential elections, research of constitutional text, and extensive scholarly material,” Miller said. “They are ethically bound to be zealous advocates for their clients – a duty Dr. Eastman holds inviolate.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California judge recommends disbarment for Trump lawyer John Eastman