The California Supreme Court denied Eastman's request to review the decision on Thursday and said he was disbarred from the practice of law in California and ordered his name stricken from the roll of attorneys. This followed a 2024 ruling from a state judge, who recommended disbarment after finding Eastman exhibited gross negligence by making false statements about the 2020 election without conducting any meaningful investigation or verification of the information he was relying upon. Eastman was ordered to pay $5,000 to the state bar.
Eastman played a key role in Donald Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election. He was a key architect of the fake elector theory that Trump and allies tried to deploy to overturn the election results. Eastman and other Trump lawyers repeatedly made false claims of voter fraud to try to bolster their case.
Beyond California, Eastman has faced other legal consequences. A lawyer for Eastman told reporters he would appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Eastman has also had his bar license suspended in Washington DC and was criminally charged in Georgia and Arizona for his role in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The Georgia case has been dropped, while the Arizona case is pending.
This disbarment is part of broader accountability efforts against lawyers who assisted with Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Watchdog groups have pursued bar disciplinary proceedings as one avenue of accountability for such lawyers. Rudy Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington DC, Kenneth Chesebro was also disbarred in New York, and Jeff Clark has also been recommended for disbarment in Washington DC.