Ethics Complaint

LDAD Files Ethics Complaint Against John Eastman

June 28, 2021

December 16, 2021

Editorial credit: Andy Cross / The Denver Post

Today, Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD) filed an ethics complaint against John Eastman, an attorney for Donald Trump, who assisted in efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.

More than 1,300 signers in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed in support of the complaint, which asks the State Bar of California to investigate and, if appropriate, sanction Mr. Eastman for violations of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.

At issue is Mr. Eastman’s participation, alongside Rudolph Giuliani and former Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey C. Clark, in post-election efforts to install Mr. Trump in the office of President of the United States, notwithstanding the irrefutable fact that he lost his re-election campaign.

Today’s complaint argues that this conduct by Mr. Eastman is an “aggravating circumstance” under California ethics rules that bears on both the decision whether to conduct an investigation and the severity of any eventual sanction. The complaint follows and supports the earlier complaint initially filed in October by States United Democracy Center.