Colorado GOP attorney is co-conspirator in Trump indictment
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John Eastman speaks at a news conference outside of CU Boulder on April 29, 2021. Photo: Andy Cross/Denver Post via Getty Images
An attorney for the Colorado Republican Party is co-conspirator No. 2 in the new indictment of former President Trump as part of a plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Driving the news: John Eastman advocated for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the Electoral College vote in Pence's ceremonial role of certifying the results Jan. 6, according to a two-page memo cited in the indictment.
Why it matters: Eastman's role in the effort to negate the 2020 vote is well-known, but the indictment puts renewed pressure on the Colorado GOP and University of Colorado Boulder for their ties to him.
Between the lines: Eastman is currently representing the Colorado GOP in a lawsuit designed to prevent unaffiliated voters from participating in the party's primary elections.
- Ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection, he was a visiting professor at CU Boulder in conservative thought and policy, and he used his university email address to discuss how Trump could remain in office.
Of note: Eastman is not named in the indictment, but his attorney confirmed his identity as "co-conspirator 2" to multiple news outlets.
What they're saying: Charles Burnham, an attorney for Eastman, told CNN the indictment "relies on a misleading presentation of the record," and that his client would decline a plea deal if offered one.
- "The fact is, if Dr. Eastman is indicted, he will go to trial. If convicted, he will appeal. The Eastman legal team is confident of its legal position in this matter," Burnham said in a statement.
Zoom in: Between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, 2021, Eastman sent a total of 101 emails in which he discussed various methods to bar Congress from certifying the 2020 election results, according to federal court documents filed in April 2022, Axios has reported.
- In testimony to the California Bar in June over whether he should lose his law license for his role, he stood by his claim that state legislatures had the power to reverse President Biden's victory in 2020.
The intrigue: The emails he sent using his university email address include a conversation with a Republican state lawmaker from Pennsylvania who sought advice on how to manipulate Electoral College electors to get Trump in office, despite President Biden winning the state.
- "I wasn't even aware that I had used a [University of] Colorado email, but somebody obviously reached out to me using that email and I just hit reply," he told 9NEWS last year.
- "Look, I'm a constitutional expert. The notion that a legislator would reach out to me seeking my input on a key constitutional issue is not a surprise and well within my normal academic duties."
The big picture: The indictment describes four lawyers, a former Justice Department official and a political consultant as key players who helped Trump in his criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.
- The others identified by media outlets and officials include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney Sidney Powell and Jeffrey Clark, former assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, Axios reports.