California attorney who tried to help overturn 2020 election loses law license

Key Points:

• The California Supreme Court has disbarred attorney John Eastman, who helped President Donald Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, removing him from the state roll of attorneys.
• Eastman developed a legal strategy urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to interfere with the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, leading to a yearslong effort by the California State Bar to revoke his law license.
• The State Bar Court judge recommended disbarment in 2024, citing Eastman’s promotion of false claims about the election to mislead courts and the public, which was deemed incompatible with legal ethical standards.
• Eastman’s attorney plans to seek U.S. Supreme Court review, arguing the decision infringes on First Amendment rights, while democracy advocates praised the ruling as a stand against unethical conduct with lasting consequences.
• Eastman, a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and ex-dean of Chapman University law school, has also faced criminal charges in Georgia related to election interference, though those charges were dismissed and he was federally pardoned by Trump.