John Eastman tried to help Donald Trump subvert American democracy. He should be shunned

Law professors across the country must emphatically and unequivocally condemn John Eastman’s role in attempting to overthrow our government.

The former dean and professor at Chapman Law School in Orange County, now at the Claremont Institute, wrote a memo in advance of Jan. 6 detailing how former Vice President Mike Pence should throw the election to Donald Trump. Trump urged Pence to follow Eastman’s prescription.

On Jan. 6, Eastman exhorted the crowd at Trump’s rally to believe that the election had been stolen. He claimed fraud had occurred, saying “dead people voted” in the presidential election and voting machines contained a “secret folder” of ballots challenging the “very essence of our republican form of government.” All of that is nonsense, but nonsense that helped inflame the crowd that staged the insurrection.

Simply put, Eastman did everything he could to help stage a coup. He was not just expressing a controversial view; he was trying to nullify an election in a way that never had occurred in the United States.

From 2000 until 2018, I did a weekly radio segment with Eastman on the syndicated Hugh Hewitt show. We also had countless in-person debates offering competing views on constitutional issues. I value such exchanges and the chance to model the ability to disagree in a civil way.

But no longer will I accept any invitation where Eastman is also speaking. I urge my fellow professors to similarly boycott events where Eastman is provided a forum. I have never said this about anyone before, but never before have we had someone so actively try to overthrow our government.

Eastman’s memo, which came to light in a new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, said that Pence, in presiding over Congress on Jan. 6, should refuse to count the electoral votes from states where there were claims of fraud. To be clear, judges in these states found no credible evidence of fraud. Recently, a Republican-led recount in Arizona found that Biden won by an even larger margin than originally thought.

According to Eastman, excluding electoral votes from these states would leave 232 electoral votes for Trump and 222 for Biden. Eastman says Pence should then rule Trump reelected.

“(T)here is very solid legal authority, and historical precedent, for the view that the president of the Senate does the counting, including the resolution of disputed electoral votes ... and all the members of Congress can do is watch,” Eastman wrote.

There is absolutely no such legal authority or historical precedent.

Eastman’s memo says Pence could then say the matter should go to the House of Representatives, where each state delegation would get one vote for president. Twenty-six state delegations in the House had a Republican majority. Thus, he expected they would select Trump.

Eastman concludes his memo by saying “Pence should do this without asking for permission — either from a vote of a joint session or from the Court.” According to Woodward and Costa, Trump relied on the Eastman memo to urge Pence to overturn the decision of the Electoral College.

Thankfully, Pence rightly concluded he had no such authority. Had Pence followed the Eastman prescription, American democracy would have ended.

Eastman was forced to resign from Chapman University but remains a featured speaker at academic conferences. I believe the California Bar, of which he is a member, should consider disciplinary actions, and I think it essential that other professors condemn Eastman’s actions.

This is not an ideological disagreement. I differ with Eastman on virtually every issue but was always glad to debate him. This is about recognizing the grave seriousness of what happened on Jan. 6.