Judge rejects Eastman bid to retain law practice while fighting disbarment

A judge in California turned down an urgent plea Wednesday from John Eastman — an architect of Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election — to allow him to keep practicing law while he fights an effort to permanently revoke his license.

Judge Yvette Roland recommended Eastman’s disbarment in March after finding he repeatedly breached legal ethics in service of Trump’s scheme to stay in power. Though her ruling is not the final word — and Eastman plans to appeal — it triggered an automatic suspension of Eastman’s license.

In recent weeks, Eastman pleaded with Roland to consider delaying the impact of her ruling, noting that his inability to practice law would disrupt several ongoing federal cases — including a lawsuit brought by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz against two California cities that denied their request to host a political event. Eastman also represents the Colorado Republican Party in an election-related suit and a Colorado teenager suing his high school over administrators’ refusal to allow him to display a Gadsden flag.

In his motion, Eastman included statements from Gaetz, Greene and other clients attesting to their desire to continue being represented by Eastman despite Roland’s finding of misconduct.

Eastman also noted that these cases are an important source of income for him as he fights criminal charges in Georgia, alongside Trump and 13 other co-defendants. Eastman was among 18 people charged last week by Arizona prosecutors for their roles in seeking to subvert the 2020 election as well.

Roland, however, sharply rejected Eastman’s rationales for maintaining his law practice while her disbarment ruling is pending. Even if she had the authority to restore his license, the judge said, she still views him as a danger to the public, not least because he has refused to accept responsibility for any of the misconduct she said he committed.

“Eastman’s motion fails to demonstrate that he no longer presents a threat to the public,” Roland wrote in a three-page order.

Her decision comes as Eastman has urged federal judges presiding over his other cases to hold off on terminating his involvement until he can appeal Roland’s disbarment ruling.