Former Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman is asking a judge to pause his disbarment so he can continue to work and earn income as an attorney while legal fees mount in his criminal case connected to his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
Eastman on Wednesday filed a motion with the California State Bar Court requesting a stay of Judge Yvette Roland’s order issued last week which recommended that he be stripped of his law license. In her ruling, the judge found Eastman had breached professional ethics rules by pushing a “strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that lacked evidentiary or legal support.”
The final decision on his disbarment lies with the California Supreme Court. Before that happens, Eastman’s lawyers argued in their filing, Roland’s order should be stayed.
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If it isn’t, they wrote, “Dr. Eastman would lose his ability to make a living as an attorney at a time when other matters arising out of his representation of the former President of the United States [...] have already caused him to incur more than $1 million in legal fees.”
One of those matters is the case in Fulton County, Georgia, where he is charged along with Trump and 17 others for allegedly violating the Georgia RICO Act. Eastman could wind up facing “as much as $3 million or more” in legal fees, his lawyers said, “before the matters have run their course.”
Eastman’s team further argued that he is “a lawyer who has dedicated his career to upholding constitutional principles” and that if the order putting him on inactive enrollment is not stayed, his “clients would be harmed by depriving them of the breadth and depth of Dr. Eastman’s knowledge and prowess as a zealous advocate.”
Six of his current clients—including Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)—made declarations attached to the motion expressing their desire for Eastman to continue as their counsel. Both lawmakers said they had reviewed the criminal charges and allegations against Eastman and concluded they are “meritless and politically motivated.”
