Mary Trump Celebrates Recommended Disbarment of Ex-Donald Trump Lawyer

Mary Trump has welcomed an attorney discipline judge’s recommendation that John Eastman, a judge who took part in efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election defeat, should be disbarred for “misconduct.”

The ruling was issued on Wednesday by State Bar Judge Yvette Roland following a complaint against Eastman from the California State Bar in 2023. Roland concluded Eastman was culpable on 10 out of the 11 counts filed against him, though the close Trump ally has condemned the recommendation and vowed to appeal.

It comes amidst a slew of civil and criminal legal cases aimed at some of the leading figures in Trump’s bid to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The former president, and 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is continuing to insist the contest was rigged against him though this has been repeatedly rejected in court and by independent election observers.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Mary Trump, the former president’s estranged niece, posted a section from Roland’s ruling and called for action against other members of Trump’s legal team.

She said: “BREAKING: ‘In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that John Eastman be disbarred.’

“Good. Now do Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mike Johnson, and all of the other lawyers who tried to help overturn the 2020 election.”

Newsweek contacted John Eastman for comment at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday via an email sent to The Claremont Institute, of which he is a senior fellow. We also contacted Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Mike Johnson for comment.

Eastman’s legal team released a statement following Judge Roland’s recommendation, vowing to appeal.

They said: “Dr. Eastman maintains that his handling of the legal issues he was asked to assess after the November 2020 election was based on reliable legal precedent, prior presidential elections, research of constitutional text, and extensive scholarly material. The process undertaken by Dr. Eastman in 2020 is the same process taken by lawyers every day and everywhere – indeed, that is the essence of what lawyers do. They are ethically bound to be zealous advocates for their clients – a duty Dr. Eastman holds inviolate.”

On his Substack blog Eastman added: “We will appeal the decision, of course, and hopefully the California Bar Review Court, the California Supreme Court, or the U.S. Supreme Court will step in to put a stop to this ‘lawfare’ that has become a serious threat to the First Amendment, the right of controversial clients and causes to legal representation, and more broadly to our adversarial system of justice.”

Eastman is also facing criminal charges along with Trump and his fellow attorneys Giuliani, Powell and Ellis over claims they broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Trump, Eastman and Giuliani deny any wrongdoing.

Powell and Ellis have both pled guilty as part of plea agreements.

Mary Trump, a psychologist, is a fierce critic of her uncle and his political ambitions. On Tuesday she claimed Trump had “never prayed in his life” after he released a video endorsing a “God Bless the USA Bible,” which costs $59.99.

Her latest book, Who Could Ever Love You about her “experiences growing up in America’s most-controversial family,” is due to be released on in the U.S. on September 10, 2024.