Court Battles

D.C. appeals court temporarily suspends ex-Trump lawyer’s law license 

John Eastman testifies on Capitol Hill in 2017.

The D.C. Court of Appeals has temporarily suspended the law license of former President Trump’s ex-lawyer following a similar order made in late March by a California State Bar Court. 

Former Trump attorney John Eastman’s license is suspended in D.C. pending a final disposition in the California court proceedings, chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, said in an order filed on Friday. 

A California judge in late March recommended disbarring Eastman due to his “false and misleading statements” regarding his claims of 2020 election fraud and the role of “provoking” the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. State Bar Judge Yvette Roland also recommended that he pay $10,000 in monetary sanctions. 

This week, Roland shut down Eastman’s request to remove the suspension of his license, stating on Wednesday he was not able to prove he’s not a “threat to the public.” 

The California Supreme Court will give a ruling regarding the case which Eastman, Chapman Law School’s former dean, can appeal. 

Roland, the California judge, found him guilty of 10 counts filed in California last year. 

Eastman faces charges in two upcoming 2024 election battleground states. 

Eastman faces eight criminal charges in Georgia where he and other allies of the former president are accused of overturning Georgia’s 2020 election results. He has pleaded not guilty in the case. In Arizona, he and allies other Trump allies face charges regarding their efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the Grand Canyon State.