John Eastman, the conservative attorney who devised a strategy to preserve power from former President Donald Trump, doubled down on his false allegations of voter fraud after being admitted to the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday.
In a statement released by his attorneys, Eastman said his surrender was prompted by a charge he said “should never have been brought.”
Eastman told a reporter there was “no doubt” in his mind that the former president’s 2020 election had been stolen.
“I am confident that if the law is faithfully applied in these proceedings, all my co-defendants and myself will be fully vindicated,” said Eastman.
Eastman was charged last week along with 18 other co-conspirators in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ extensive racketeering investigation. He turned himself in to Georgian authorities on Tuesday on charges of attempting to undermine the integrity of the 2020 election.
“John Eastman gives a sneak peek at his defense, which appears to have a good faith belief that the election was stolen,” former U.S. attorney Barb McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan, told Salon. “The prosecution will have the burden of proving that it knew that statement was false, or that it used means that it knew were illegal to overturn the election result. His public statements could be used against him in a lawsuit should he face an inconsistency.” position.”
Eastman was a close advisor to Trump leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by the president’s supporters, which aimed to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.
As the mastermind of a plot to undermine the certification of the Electoral College votes, Eastman wrote a memo outlining a series of actions that then-Vice President Mike Pence might take during his role as overseer of the Joint Session of Congress on that day to prevent the election. counting the electoral votes and extending Trump’s term.
He and co-defendant Rudy Giuliani gave remote testimony to lawmakers in Georgia in late 2020. During this session, they claimed that there was substantial evidence of extensive fraud in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Despite nine charges, including violation of the state’s RICO law, conspiracy to impersonate a government official and conspiracy to file false documents, Eastman has maintained that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Of course, many defendants are publicly defiant at the time of indictment, eventually entering guilty pleas and cooperating once they review the discovery materials and understand the likelihood of a conviction,” McQuade said.
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Eastman also criticized the charge for attacking “lawyers for their diligent advocacy on behalf of their clients” and said each of the defendants had the right to rely on lawyers’ advice and past legal precedents to determine the outcome of the election. to fight.
“There is no more fundamental ethical duty for a lawyer than that of upholding the constitution,” James Sample, professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University, told Salon. “John Eastman to claim that legal ethics require him to undermine the Constitution is the height of hypocrisy.”
Trump’s lawyers also met with Fulton County prosecutors on Tuesday to determine the terms of his bail settlement.
As part of the agreement, the ex-president will be required to post bail of $200,000, undertake not to engage in further criminal activity, attend court hearings as directed, and refrain from expressing any form of ” explicit or implicit threat” against his co-presidents. suspected, unindicted co-conspirators, witnesses or victims.
Earlier this week, Trump posted on Truth Social that he plans to surrender Thursday afternoon, writing, “Can you believe it? I’m going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be arrested by a far-left district attorney, Fani Willis. overseeing one of the greatest homicide and violent crime DISASTERS in American history. In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for ‘Murder’, but for having a PERFECT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION! She campaigned, and continues to campaign, and raise money, this WITCH HUNT. This is in strict coordination with Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ. It’s all about ELECTION INFERENCE!’
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about the charges against Fulton
