Jan. 6 committee recommends John Eastman face criminal charges two years after Capitol insurrection

According to the final report from the Jan. 6 committee, senior White House and campaign officials described Eastman’s plan to overturn the results of the 2020 election as “insane,” “crazy” and “nutty.” Photo collage by ANGELINA HICKS, editor-in-chief

It’s been two years since former law professor John Eastman spoke alongside Rudy Giuliani the day of the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

He’s now among the individuals — including former President Donald Trump — that the Jan. 6 committee is recommending face federal criminal prosecution for obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

In the final report released last month from the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, investigators claim Eastman’s actions violated the law.

Chapman University was subpoenaed last year by the committee requesting Eastman’s email correspondence. Eastman attempted and failed to block the subpoena, resulting in the release of the emails sent preceding and immediately following the attack.

Federal District Court Judge David Carter reviewed the emails and other evidence and concluded that Eastman and others spearheaded an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history,” Carter said in the final report. “Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process.”

The report describes that leading up the Jan. 6, Eastman and others created a plan for former Vice President Mike Pence to declare that electoral votes from certain states would not be counted. 

Carter claimed Eastman was well aware of his actions were illegal.

“Dr. Eastman himself repeatedly recognized that his plan had no legal support,” Carter said. “Dr. Eastman likely acted deceitfully and dishonestly each time he pushed an outcome-driven plan that he knew was unsupported by the law.”

Eastman first began receiving criticism from the Chapman community in August 2020 after he released an opinion on Newsweek that questioned then-California Sen. Kamala Harris’ eligibility for the vice presidency given her parents’ citizenship status at the time of her birth. Photo from The Panther Archives

In the final report from the Jan. 6 committee, one heading reads: “EASTMAN’S THEORY WAS — IN THE WORDS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SENIOR WHITE HOUSE AND CAMPAIGN OFFICIALS — ‘INSANE,’ ‘CRAZY,’ ‘NUTTY’ AND IT WOULD NEVER PRACTICALLY WORK.”

Eastman was quick to disregard the recommendation from the committee.

“A criminal ‘referral’ from a congressional committee is not binding on the Department of Justice and carries no more legal weight than a ‘referral’ from any American citizen,” Eastman said in a statement last month. “In fact, a ‘referral’ from the January 6th committee should carry a great deal less weight due to the absurdly partisan nature of the process that produced it.”

Evidence presented by the committee includes an email exchange between Eastman and Greg Jacob, Pence’s former legal counsel. The series of emails indicate that Eastman counseled Trump to advise Pence, who presided over the counting of the electoral college, to reject the votes of certain electors from swing states.

On Jan. 6, 2021, at 10:44 a.m., Jacob questioned the legality of Eastman’s suggestions. Eastman responded at 1:33 p.m., approximately 20 minutes after rioters began combatting law enforcement at the Capitol, calling Jacobs “small minded.”

Jacobs responded again at 12:14 p.m., claiming Eastman’s “bullshit” is the reason the Capitol is under attack and criticizing the upheaval of 130-year-old electoral process.

“(Statutes enacted by Congress) cannot be set aside except when in direct conflict with the Constitution that our revered Framers handed us,” Jacobs wrote. “And very respectfully, I don’t think that a single one of those Framers would agree with your position either.”

Jacobs sent a follow-up email to Eastman at 1:05 p.m. after being escorted to a secure location away from the Capitol.

“Respectfully, it was gravely, gravely irresponsible for you to entice the President with an academic theory that had no legal viability, that you well know we would lose before any judge who heard and decided the case,” Jacob wrote. “The knowing amplification of that theory through numerous surrogates, whipping large numbers of people into a frenzy over something with no chance of ever attaining legal force through actual process of law, has led to where we are.”

Eastman is now among the individuals that the Jan. 6 committee is recommending face federal criminal prosecution for obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Graphic from The Panther Archives

At 2:11 p.m., rioters breached law enforcement and began scaling the walls of the Capitol, and Pence was escorted out of the building within ten minutes. At 2:25 p.m., Jacobs received another response from Eastman. 

“The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss (Pence) did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened,” Eastman wrote.

In his deposition interview from December 2021, Eastman refused to answer any questions about his role in the insurrection directly, instead choosing to plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination nearly 200 times.

Eastman first began receiving public criticism from the Chapman community in August 2020 after he released an opinion on Newsweek that questioned then-California Sen. Kamala Harris’ eligibility for the vice presidency given her parents’ citizenship status at the time of her birth. The piece was widely condemned by Chapman students, faculty and outside scholars alike.

In December 2020, Eastman filed a Supreme Court case aiming to overturn the general election results. Over 150 faculty members signed a statement calling Eastman’s brief “a disgraceful attack on American democracy,” arguing the university’s values are not in alignment with Eastman’s actions. 

Chapman announced Eastman’s retirement on Jan. 13, 2021. He released a resignation letter the next day recounting his relationship with the university and claimed he has been the subject of false, defamatory statements.