John Eastman, Donald Trump's former lawyer who backed the then-president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, has raised over $385,000 online after facing a bar complaint that could see him stripped of his law license.
The money is being raised on the GiveSendGo crowdfunding website, where more than 5,000 individual donations have been given at this time.
Trump is continuing to insist the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, was "rigged" against him. This argument, which helped inspire a pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, has been repeatedly rejected in the courts, and by independent and even Republican-leaning legal experts.
On Tuesday, the California State Bar began a disciplinary trial against Eastman, who has been accused of "dishonesty and moral turpitude" after allegedly filing "frivolous" lawsuits in a bid to stop Biden from entering the White House.
The California State Bar also says Eastman advised Republican-dominated legislatures in states Biden won in 2020 to use illegal methods to stop Biden supporting electors from being appointed. The president is officially selected by 538 electors, who are elected in turn during the presidential election campaign by the public on a state-by-state basis. They are expected to vote in accordance with the popular vote, though this is not a legal requirement in all states.
Eastman urged Mike Pence to refuse to certify the election result, The Washington Post reported, which the then-vice president declined to do. Eastman also spoke at the "Save America" rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, hours before Trump supporters rioted at the Capitol Building.
He has denied any wrongdoing, arguing he was working under extreme pressure with information constantly changing, and only advised state legislatures to take action if investigations found evidence of serious fraud.
The GiveSendGo fundraiser says money raised will be used to pay for Eastman's legal team, so it can respond "to January 6 Committee and bar complaints, as well as bringing suits for violations of constitutional rights."
Referring to Eastman, it states: "He has been targeted by hard core leftist activists who have filed a bar complaint against him, seeking to have him disbarred and thereby lose his source of income.
"He has also been subpoenaed by the hyper-partisan January 6 Committee in the House of Representatives, which is targeting anyone involved in election integrity efforts as well as those engaged in freedom of speech and association to voice their objections to illegality in the conduct of the election. Responding to both of these attacks has required Dr. Eastman to hire outside counsel, at significant cost to himself."
In December, the House select committee which was formed to investigate the January 6, 2021, attack called for Eastman to be charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with obstruction of official proceedings.
Newsweek reached out to Eastman for comment via an email sent to The Claremont Institute, where he is a senior fellow.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is currently investigating what role Trump played in events leading up to January 6. He has already charged Trump on a number of counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, to which the former president pled not guilty in Miami.
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