An attorney representing disgraced lawyer John Eastman claimed that his client will never become a government witness in Georgia’s expansive RICO indictment of Donald Trump and more than a dozen others. The reason: Eastman is “very religious.”
Appearing on CNNs Erin Burnett OutFront, Harvey Silverglate said he expects prosecutors to approach Eastman, who earlier in the day turned himself in and paid a $100,000 bond at the Fulton County Jail, about testifying for the government. Calling himself a “cynic” regarding such a move, Silverglate complained that it’s viewed as commonplace.
“If you or I engaged in this conduct, it would be a crime. It’s called extortion. When prosecutors do it, it’s par for the course,” he told anchor Brianna Keilar. Silverglate then claimed that plea bargaining, too, would result in non-lawyers being “indicted for extortion.”
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Keilar asked Silverglate how Eastman—who was mum when asked outside the jail about any possible immunity deals he has or has not made—would respond in such a circumstance.
“What would he do? Well, I’ll tell you one thing about John Eastman: He’s a very religious man. He will not testify falsely. He will not take an oath to his God and to his government to testify truthfully and then testify falsely,” Silverglate said. “He is not going to be a government witness.”
Eastman, who allegedly urged then-Vice President Mike Pence in early January 2021 to delay or reject the counting of electoral votes for Joe Biden, faces nine counts in the indictment, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit forgery, and filing false documents. A guilty verdict for the racketeering charge alone could result in a five-year minimum prison sentence.
Eastman’s surrender Tuesday comes as he faces disbarment proceedings in California—hearings which were put on hold to accommodate his other legal troubles on the East Coast.
