Letters to the Editor: Why John Eastman was much worse than just a bad lawyer
To the editor: Lawyer John Eastman, who faces disbarment in California over his effort to assist former President Trump in overturning the 2020 election result, was characterized by an attorney for former Vice President Mike Pence as a “serpent in Trump’s ear.”
This characterization, while correct, is misleading.
It’s correct because it accurately indicates that Eastman was giving Trump fallacious legal information, and it’s reasonable to believe that Eastman knew he was doing that.
But it’s misleading because it implies that Trump was simply given bad advice by a lawyer. The reality is that Trump was actively seeking such a “serpent” to give him a justification, any justification, for preventing certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Eastman and Trump acted as a pair of rattlesnakes and were attempting to destroy our rule of law with their poisonous venom. It’s appropriate that Eastman is facing disbarment in California and that both he and Trump are facing criminal charges in Georgia.
David Michels, Encino
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To the editor: The State Bar’s rushed attempt to disbar Eastman is a shameful kangaroo court.
In the usual case where civil or criminal proceedings are pending relating to the bar charges, the bar delays the discipline until the court makes its decision, particularly where there is little or no risk of harm to clients, and 5th Amendment rights are at stake.
Why not here? Because the bar is still embarrassed by the Tom Girardi matter. Now it wants to pose as the guardian of democracy in a case that is 90% political, going after somebody who is a pariah of the local legal establishment.
This is a piece of cake for the prosecution, which can just latch onto U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s “more likely than not” prejudgment of Eastman’s guilt. It’s enough for the ordinary guy to hope Eastman beats the rap and throws egg on their face, for the system’s sake.
Tom Weiss, Woodland Hills
The writer is a lawyer.
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To the editor: I don’t know which is more disconcerting — that Eastman was a law professor, or that he was the dean of the law school where he taught.
What did he teach his students? I hope they can now look to him as an example of what might happen when people think they are above the law.
Eastman is now worried about losing his California law license. He needs to lose his law license, just as a District of Columbia Bar panel recommended for Rudy Giuliani.
Linda Shabsin, Diamond Bar
