John EastmanLast Updated: August 24, 2023

Campaign; deposition scheduled for Dec. 8. Eastman was the author of what has been called the “coup memo,” a legal document arguing that Vice President Mike Pence could simply ignore submitted electoral-vote tallies on Jan. 6. Eastman spoke at the rally on the Ellipse on Jan. 6.

Committee description:

John Eastman reportedly advised President Trump and others that Vice President Pence could reject electors from certain states in order to deny Joe Biden a majority of the Electoral College vote. In the days before January 6th, Mr. Eastman is reported to have participated in a briefing for nearly 300 state legislators regarding purported election fraud, during which he told the group that it was ‘the duty of the legislatures to fix this, this egregious conduct, and make sure that we’re not putting in the White House some guy that didn’t get elected.’ Mr. Eastman reportedly participated in the January 5th, 2021 meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. and he spoke at the rally on the Ellipse on January 6th prior to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.