Noteworthy: We increasingly look to the states to uphold the rule of law.
Note to my future self.
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court disbarred John Eastman — the architect of the legal strategy to keep Donald Trump in power after losing the 2020 election.
The court found him culpable on 10 of 11 charges of egregious and deceitful conduct. His California license is gone. His name struck from the roll of attorneys.
Eastman was the one who wrote the memo and met with Pence’s counsel on January 5th to promote it, arguing that Pence could refuse to certify the electoral vote. Courts, legal scholars, and ultimately Pence himself rejected it as constitutional fantasy.
He was named co-conspirator number two in the federal January 6th indictment. Indicted in Georgia. Indicted in Arizona. Now disbarred in California.
The Big Lie that the elections in 2020 were somehow stolen unfortunately persists, and it is no shock that Eastman himself spoke at CPAC’s May 2025 Budapest meeting.
His attorney says they’ll appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — where Eastman once clerked for Clarence Thomas.
The proceedings took three years but the California Supreme Court was clear: advancing false claims to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public is incompatible with holding a law license.
Noteworthy: We increasingly look to the states to uphold the rule of law.
Notes To My Future Self 