John Charles Eastman was found to have displayed egregious and deceitful conduct
The California Supreme Court has disbarred attorney John Charles Eastman, who was among those who pushed to reverse the results of the 2020 US presidential election.
Last July 2025, the State Bar Court review department had supported the State Bar Court hearing department’s March 2024 recommendation that Eastman be disbarred. He had been found guilty of 10 out of 11 charges of egregious and deceitful conduct.
State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona linked the decision to Eastman’s role in the election.
“After extensive proceedings before the State Bar Court’s Hearing and Review Departments, both of which found Mr. Eastman culpable of serious ethical violations, the court has imposed the discipline warranted by the clear and convincing evidence that he advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public,” Cardona said in a statement released by the State Bar of California. “The court’s order underscores that Mr. Eastman’s misconduct was incompatible with the standards of integrity required of every California attorney.”
Cardona explained that the Supreme Court order “affirms the fundamental principle that attorneys must act with honesty and uphold the rule of law, regardless of the client they represent or the context in which that representation occurs.”
Eastman had acted for US president Donald Trump during and following the 2020 election. According to the American Bar Association Journal, he had participated at Trump’s January 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally; he also penned memos backing the idea that ex-US vice president Mike Pence was authorized to reject certified state electors and overturn then-president Joe Biden’s win at the Electoral College.
He represented Trump in a Supreme Court suit seeking to invalidate votes in four states based on claims by Trump that voter fraud had occurred. The California bar accused him of “moral turpitude, dishonesty or corruption” and filed 11 disciplinary charges under its business and professions code.
