Judge rules ex-Trump lawyer, election subversion defendant John Eastman be disbarred

March 27 (UPI) -- A California state bar judge ruled Wednesday that John Eastman , a co-defendant of former President Donald Trump in Georgia's 2020 election subversion case, should be disbarred.

"Eastman's wrongdoing constitutes exceptionally serious ethical violations warranting severe professional discipline," California State Bar Court Hearing Judge Yvette Roland wrote her 128-page ruling.

Eastman was a Trump lawyer during the real estate mogul's tenure in the White House and is one of 19 defendants, along with the former president, accused in the Georgia case of participating in a conspiracy to overturn President Joe Biden 's 2020 election victory, which culminated in the Jan 6. 2021, attack on Congress.

The Nebraska native is described as one of the main architects of the plan to replace legitimate Biden electors with fake Trump electors in several battleground states. As part of the scheme, he is accused of pushing the idea that Trump's vice president, Mike Pence , had the authority to delay or adjourn the certification of Biden as the 46th president of the United States.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In September of 2021, the State Bar of California opened an investigation into Eastman and the 11 disciplinary charges filed against him in January 2023.

Following a more than 35-day trial that involved 23 witnesses and more than 700 exhibits, Roland issued her judgment Wednesday, finding Eastman culpable of 10 of those disciplinary charges of failing to support.

"As counsel for President Trump during a disputed presidential election, Eastman made multiple patently false and misleading statements in court filing, in public remarks heard by countless Americans and to others regarding the conduct of the 2020 presidential election and Vice President Pence's authority to refuse to count or delay counting properly certified slates of electoral votes on January 6, 2021," Roland said.

"These statements, made with varying degrees of intent, were improperly aimed at casting doubt on the legitimate election results and support for the baseless claim that the presidency was stolen from his client -- all while relying on his credentials as an attorney and constitutional scholar to lend credibility to his unfounded claims."

She continued that Eastman's lack of remorse and accountability present "significant risk" that he may engage in further unethical conduct that could be a threat to the public.

Eastman railed against the ruling and validity of the trial in a statement Wednesday, saying he will appeal the decision all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary "to put a stop to this 'lawfare' that has become a serious threat to the First Amendment, the right of controversial clients and causes of legal representation."

A statement from his legal representation at Miller Law Associates argued that Eastman's actions following the November 2020 election were that taken by lawyers every day -- zealously advocating for their clients.

"To the extent today's decision curtails that principle, we are confident the review court will swiftly provide a remedy," the law firm said.

Meanwhile, Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona celebrated his victory, stating the court has found that Eastman not only repeatedly violated his duty to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law but threatened the fundamental principles of democracy in the process.

"Mr. Eastman abandoned his ethical and legal duties as an attorney to conspire with then-President Donald Trump to develop and implement a strategy to obstruct the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021, and illegally disrupt the peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Joseph Biden, knowing that there was no good faith theory or argument to lawfully reject the electoral votes of any state or delay the January 6 electoral count," Cardona said in a statement .

"Mr. Eastman's efforts failed only because our democratic institutions and those committed to upholding them held strong. The harm caused by Mr. Eastman's abandonment of his duties as a lawyer, and the threat his actions posed to our democracy, more than warrant his disbarment."