John C. Eastman

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John C. Eastman
EastmanPromo-HighRes.jpg
Eastman (2013)
Born (1960-04-21) April 21, 1960 (age 61)
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.[citation needed]
EducationUniversity of Dallas (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Claremont Graduate School (PhD)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Eastman

John C. Eastman is an American legal scholar who is a former tenured professor of law and former dean at the Chapman University School of Law.[1] A former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, he is the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the conservative think tank Claremont Institute.[2][3] Eastman ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for California's 34th congressional district in 1990, and for the office of California Attorney General in 2010.[2]

He drew controversy in 2020 for an op-ed which erroneously suggested that then-presumed Democratic nominee for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was not an American citizen and thus not legally eligible for the position.[4][5][6] During President Donald Trump's last attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election before the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, Eastman incorrectly told Vice President Mike Pence in an Oval Office meeting on January 5, 2021, that Pence had the constitutional authority to block the certification. Pence did not accept Eastman's argument.[7][8][9][10][11]

On January 13, 2021, Eastman retired from the Chapman University faculty after he had created controversy by speaking at a Trump rally that preceded the violent storming of the United States Capitol.[12][13]

Education

Eastman earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics and economics from the University of Dallas, Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School, and PhD in Government from the Claremont Graduate School. During his time in law school, Eastman worked on the University of Chicago Law Review.[citation needed]

Career

Prior to law school, he served as Director of Congressional and Public Affairs at the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 1989.[14] He was also the unsuccessful 1990 Republican nominee for United States House of Representatives in the California's 34th congressional district.[15]

After law school, he clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court of the United States, then was an attorney with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, specializing in civil and constitutional litigation. He later joined Chapman to teach constitutional law. He has also appeared on the nationally-syndicated Hugh Hewitt show commenting on law.[16]

Eastman served as an attorney for the State of South Dakota, representing it in a denied petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in a constitutional challenge to federal spending.[17]

Eastman has represented the North Carolina legislature and the State of Arizona in unsuccessfully petitioning the Supreme Court in cases involving same-sex marriage,[18] abortion,[19] and immigration.[20]

He testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2014 arguing that President Barack Obama's unilateral suspension of deportation for illegal immigrants was unconstitutional.[21]

Elections

1990 congressional campaign

In 1990 Eastman was unopposed in the primary to become the Republican challenger of long term 34th District incumbent Esteban Torres in California's San Gabriel Valley.[22][23][24]

California's 34th congressional district election, 1990
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Esteban Torres (incumbent) 55,646 60.70
Republican John Eastman 36,024 39.30
Total votes 91,670 100.00
Democratic hold

California Attorney General campaign

On February 1, 2010, Eastman resigned as Dean of the Chapman University School of Law to pursue the Republican nomination for California Attorney General.[25] On April 1, a Superior Court judge denied Eastman's choice for ballot designation, "Assistant Attorney General", fearing that use of this title, granted by South Dakota for his work on a lawsuit, would be misperceived as a California title. The judge further denied Eastman's second choice, "Taxpayer Advocate/Attorney", but accepted his third choice, "Constitutional Law Attorney". Such designations typically reflect a candidate's current employment or elected office.[26] Eastman finished second in the three-way Republican primary with 34.2% of the vote, behind Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who received 47.3%.[27] Cooley advanced to the 2010 California Attorney General election, where he was defeated by Kamala Harris.[28]

Board affiliations

Eastman is chairman of the Federalist Society's Federalism & Separation of Powers practice group.[29][30] He is chairman of the board of the National Organization for Marriage[31][32] and a director of the Public Interest Legal Foundation.[33] He is both a member of the board[34] and on the faculty at the Claremont Institute.[35] He sits on the board of advisors of St. Monica's Academy[36] and the advisory board of the St. Thomas More Law Society of Orange County.[37]

Kamala Harris citizenship op-ed

In August 2020, Newsweek published an op-ed by Eastman questioning 2020 vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris's eligibility for the office. He asserted she could not be a U.S. citizen by birth despite being born in Oakland, California, if neither of her parents was a permanent resident at the time of her birth. Eastman said that she could have subsequently obtained citizenship derived from the naturalization of her parents if one of them had become a citizen prior to her 16th birthday in 1980, which would have allowed Harris to fulfill the nine-year citizenship requirement required to become a senator.[38]

Many prominent legal scholars disagreed with Eastman's position, and many compared it to the birther-ism theory against President Barack Obama. Newsweek defended the column, while acknowledging that it was "horrified that this op-ed gave rise to a wave of vile Birtherism directed at Senator Harris". It stated there was no connection between the op-ed and the birther movement. Rather, the op-ed focused on the "long-standing, somewhat arcane legal debate about the precise meaning of the phrase 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' and the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment", also known as the jus sanguinis or jus soli debate.[39] However, Axios noted that most constitutional scholars do not accept Eastman's view, labeling it "baseless". Axios also criticized him for brushing off the eligibility concerns of 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz, born in Calgary, Canada, in a 2016 National Review op-ed, claiming they were "silly".[40]

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley Law School, told BBC: "Under section 1 of the 14th Amendment, anyone born in the United States is a United States citizen. The Supreme Court has held this since the 1890s. Kamala Harris was born in the United States."[41] Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe was similarly dismissive, telling The New York Times “I hadn’t wanted to comment on [Eastman’s idea] because it’s such an idiotic theory. There is nothing to it.”[42] One day after it published Eastman's op-ed, Newsweek published an opinion piece by legal scholar, Eugene Volokh, titled "Yes, Kamala Harris is Eligible to be Vice President", in which Volokh argues that Harris is a "natural-born citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and is therefore eligible to be vice president.[43]

2020 presidential election

See also: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

On December 9, 2020, Eastman represented U.S. President Donald Trump in a motion to intervene in Texas v. Pennsylvania, a case filed directly in the U.S. Supreme Court by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, in which the state of Texas sought to annul the voting processes and, by extension, the electoral college results of at least four other states. Eastman’s brief included an array of unfounded claims and asserted “It is not necessary for [Trump] to prove that fraud occurred” and asserted it was enough to show that elections “materially deviated” from the intent of state lawmakers, adding, “By failing to follow the rule of law, these officials put our nation's belief in elected self-government at risk.”[44][45][46] Two days later, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, finding that Texas did not have standing. It did not address the merits of any of Texas's claims.[47] On December 13, 2020, 159 Chapman University faculty members (including two from the law school) published a statement condemning Eastman for the filing.[48]

On January 2, 2021, Eastman reportedly participated in a Zoom call that Trump joined in which legislators from Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin talked about allegations of voter fraud.[49][50] On January 5, 2021, Eastman met with Vice President Mike Pence in the Oval Office to argue incorrectly that the vice president has the constitutional authority to alter or otherwise change electoral votes.[51] Pence rejected Eastman's argument and instead agreed with his counsel, Greg Jacob, and conservative legal scholars and other Pence advisors, such as John Yoo and J. Michael Luttig. Pence later released a letter stating he would not attempt to intervene in the certification process, citing Luttig by name, who later said it was "the highest honor of my life" to be involved in preserving the Constitution.[51][8][9][10]

On January 6, Eastman spoke alongside Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani at the "Save America" rally that preceded the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol and asserted that balloting machines contained "secret folders" that altered voting results.[52][53][54][55]

On January 9, 2021, the chairman of Chapman's board of trustees and two other members (including former Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez) called on the university's president and provost and the law school's dean "to promptly take action against Eastman for his role in the events of Jan. 6." Eastman responded that he was speaking two miles away from the Capitol building.[56][57]

On January 13, 2021, Chapman University announced that Eastman had agreed to retire from the university. Daniele C. Struppa, the university president, said that "Chapman and Dr. Eastman have agreed not to engage in legal actions of any kind, including any claim of defamation that may currently exist, as both parties move forward".[58] Eastman published a statement the next day saying that those who publicly condemned him "have created such a hostile environment for me that I no longer wish to be a member of the Chapman faculty, and am therefore retiring from my position, effective immediately." He said he would continue with his Spring 2021 position as Visiting Professor of Conservative Thought and Policy at the University of Colorado and intended to then devote full-time effort to his position as director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.[57][59] The University of Colorado cancelled Eastman's Spring 2021 courses due to low enrollment.[60] The university also revoked some of Eastman's public-facing duties but permitted him to conduct scholarship.[61][11]

Appearing on CNN on January 23 to argue that the Trump rally did not incite the siege of the Capitol, Eastman asserted that "a paramilitary group as well as antifa groups" had been organizing "three or four days ahead of time." Eastman asserted this had been reported by The Washington Post days earlier, though the article he appeared to reference did not support his assertion and did not mention antifa.[62][63][64] The FBI had announced two weeks earlier there was no evidence of antifa involvement in the siege.[65] Eastman referred to an "antifa and BLM guy" who had been arrested after the Capitol incursion, an apparent reference to a Utah man who some characterized as an "antifa leader" who had supposedly infiltrated the rally crowd to instigate the insurgency. Federal authorities had not identified the man as a member of antifa.[66] Black Lives Matter Utah had for months disassociated itself from the man on concerns he might be associated with the Proud Boys.[67][68]

References

  1. ^ "'This is not who we are': Chapman law professor represents Trump in Supreme Court". The Panther Newspaper.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Dr. John Eastman". Faculty Profile. Chapman University. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  3. ^ "John C. Eastman". Conference on World Affairs. November 28, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "Here's Kamala Harris' birth certificate. Scholars say there's no VP eligibility debate". The Mercury News. August 18, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020. Legal experts say her eligibility was never up for debate, but they reluctantly weighed in after conservative attorney John C. Eastman published an opinion piece in Newsweek sowing doubt because Harris’ parents were immigrants. He used a widely discredited legal argument that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t grant birthright citizenship.
  5. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (August 14, 2020). "The White Supremacist "Scholars" Pushing the Kamala Harris Birther Lie". Slate Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Newsweek apologizes for op-ed questioning Harris eligibility". AP NEWS. August 15, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Baker, Peter; Haberman, Maggie; Karni, Annie (January 13, 2021). "Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn't Pretty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fact check: No, Pence can't overturn the election results". NBC News.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "AP FACT CHECK: Trump's false claims, fuel on a day of chaos". AP NEWS. January 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Naylor, Brian. "FACT CHECK: What Pence And Congress Can And Can't Do About The Election". www.wnpr.org.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b ""Failure" of John Eastman appointment shines spotlight on CU Boulder's conservative Benson Center". Boulder Daily Camera. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  12. ^ "Chapman professor will retire after uproar over his speaking at Trump rally". Los Angeles Times. January 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Sloan, Karen (January 14, 2021). "Law Prof Who Spoke at White House Rally Abruptly Retires Amid Calls for His Firing". The Recorder. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  14. ^ "John C. Eastman - C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
  15. ^ "California's 34th Congressional District". Ballotpedia.
  16. ^ "Dean John Eastman On The Powers Of The Senate Vis-à-vis The SCOTUS Vacancy « The Hugh Hewitt Show". The Hugh Hewitt Show. February 15, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "Search - Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov.
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  21. ^ "'Prosecutorial Discretion' Does Not Allow the President to 'Change the Law'" (PDF). Hearing on “Keeping Families Together: The President’s Executive Action On Immigration And The Need To Pass Comprehensive Reform”. December 10, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  22. ^ [1], Los Angeles Times, Mike Ward, October 25, 1990. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  23. ^ California Elections Page. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  24. ^ 1990 primary election, California Secretary of State, March Fong Eu, June 5, 1990. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  25. ^ "Eastman resigns as Dean of the Chapman University School of Law"; accessed April 27, 2014. Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ 2 AG hopefuls from O.C. lose ballot fight, Orange County Register, Martin Wisckol, April 1, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  27. ^ "John Eastman". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  28. ^ Leonard, Jack; Metha, Seema (November 25, 2010). "Steve Cooley concedes race for attorney general to Kamala Harris". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  29. ^ "StackPath". fedsoc.org. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
  30. ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Should the Federalist Society reckon with members who aided Trump's false election claims?". ABA Journal. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  31. ^ Crary, David (September 22, 2011). "John Eastman Named National Organization For Marriage Chairman". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  32. ^ "National Organization for Marriage". nationformarriage.org.
  33. ^ "Board of Directors | Public Interest Legal FoundationPublic Interest Legal Foundation". publicinterestlegal.org.
  34. ^ "Claremont Institute - Board of Directors". www.claremont.org.
  35. ^ "Curriculum and Faculty Committee - The Claremont Institute". www.claremont.org.
  36. ^ "Directors and Advisors".
  37. ^ "AD VERITATEM" (PDF). December 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  38. ^ Eastman, John C. (August 12, 2020). "Some questions for Kamala Harris about eligibility | Opinion". Newsweek. Retrieved August 14, 2020. Were Harris' parents lawful permanent residents at the time of her birth? If so, then under the actual holding of Wong Kim Ark, she should be deemed a citizen at birth—that is, a natural-born citizen—and hence eligible. Or were they instead, as seems to be the case, merely temporary visitors, perhaps on student visas issued pursuant to Section 101(15)(F) of Title I of the 1952 Immigration Act? If the latter were indeed the case, then derivatively from her parents, Harris was not subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States at birth, but instead owed her allegiance to a foreign power or powers—Jamaica, in the case of her father, and India, in the case of her mother—and was therefore not entitled to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment as originally understood .. If neither was ever naturalized, or at least not naturalized before Harris' 16th birthday (which would have allowed her to obtain citizenship derived from their naturalization under the immigration law, at the time), then she would have had to become naturalized herself in order to be a citizen. That does not appear to have ever happened, yet without it, she could not have been "nine Years a Citizen of the United States" before her election to the U.S. Senate.
  39. ^ "Editor's Note: Eastman's Newsweek column has nothing to do with racist birtherism". Newsweek. August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  40. ^ Savitsky, Shane. "Trump campaign official pushes baseless Newsweek op-ed claiming Harris may not be VP-eligible". Axios. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  41. ^ "Trump stokes 'birther' conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris - BBC News". Bbc.com. October 20, 1964. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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  48. ^ "Chapman faculty speak out," https://sites.google.com/view/chapman-faculty/home, December 13, 2021, viewed January 14, 2021.
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  52. ^ "Chapman University will not fire law professor who spoke at pro-Trump Capitol rally". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 2021.
  53. ^ Jennewien, Chris (January 6, 2021). "Chapman University President Condemns Controversial Law Professor Who Aided Trump". Times of San Diego.
  54. ^ Langford, Katie (January 8, 2021). "CU Boulder won't fire conservative scholar who spread "repugnant" conspiracy theories at D.C. rally". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 11, 2021. University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano chastised visiting scholar John Eastman for spreading conspiracy theories about election fraud, but said he would not fire the professor in a message to the campus community Thursday....On Wednesday, Eastman spoke at a rally for President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., alleging without evidence that there was widespread voter fraud in the Nov. 3 general election and the Tuesday runoff election in Georgia.
  55. ^ Hayes, Rob (January 11, 2021). "Faculty call for firing of Chapman University professor who spoke at pro-Trump rally". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  56. ^ "Letters to the Editor: Chapman University faculty: John Eastman doesn’t belong on our campus," Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-09/chapman-university-faculty-john-eastman, viewed January 14, 2021.
  57. ^ Jump up to: a b "John Eastman’s Statement on His Retirement from Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law," John Eastman, Americanmind.org, January 14, 2021, https://americanmind.org/salvo/john-eastmans-statement-on-his-retirement-from-chapman-university-fowler-school-of-law/, viewed January 14, 2021.
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  59. ^ "California professor who spoke at Trump rally retires". AP NEWS. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  60. ^ "CU Boulder cancels courses taught by conservative scholar John Eastman, citing single-digit enrollment". The Denver Post. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  61. ^ "CU Boulder strips John Eastman of public duties following professor's speech at Trump rally that preceded Capitol riot". The Denver Post. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  62. ^ "Ex-Law Professor Says His Words at 'Save America' Rally Did Not Incite U.S. Capitol Siege". January 23, 2021.
  63. ^ "Trump lawyer John Eastman: Rally, insurrection not connected - CNN Video" – via www.cnn.com.
  64. ^ Jr, Robert O'Harrow. "Rallies ahead of Capitol riot were planned by established Washington insiders" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  65. ^ Alba, Davey (January 8, 2021). "F.B.I. says there is no evidence antifa participated in storming the Capitol" – via NYTimes.com.
  66. ^ Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Scott Glover. "Giuliani uses unfounded 'Antifa' argument to defend Trump". CNN.
  67. ^ "PolitiFact - Facebook posts wrongly claim left-wing activist, antifa 'incited' US Capitol mob". @politifact.
  68. ^ Jackman, Tom; Lang, Marissa J.; Swaine, Jon. "Man who shot video of fatal Capitol shooting is arrested, remains focus of political storm" – via www.washingtonpost.com.

External links

Academic offices
Preceded by
 3rd Dean of the Chapman University School of Law
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
Tom Campbell
Retrieved from ""