Thread by @meghanncuniff

I’m here at California State Bar Court in LA for the first day of Trump lawyer John Eastman’s disbarment hearing over the 2020 election aftermath and Jan. 6. Eastman is expected to testify today. Subscribe to my website to support my independent coverage: legalaffairsandtrials.com/subscribe

We’ll hear opening statements today, then state bar counsel plans to call John Eastman as their first witness. legalaffairsandtrials.com/subscribe

Reporters are lined up to get into the hearing, which is to begin at 10 am. I saw John Eastman in a conference room with his attorneys. This isn’t LA Superior Court, so I expect this will actually get started about 10 am instead of 80 minutes late.

John Eastman was in the lobby a few moments ago greeting a couple people with one of his lawyers. Not sure who they are, but one is holding a blue 42 hat aka Jackie Robinson.

We are now in the courtroom. The press is relegated to the folding chairs in the back. The people Eastman greeted in the lobby are seated in the pew in front of me. One is talking about how much her Twitter prescence and interactions have improved since @elonmusk took over.

State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland has taken the bench, 32-ounce Big Gulp cup in hand.

Not sure what's in the cup. I don't think it's soda and it's not an official @7eleven cup. But it's the first time I've seen a judge actually hold a 32-ounce plastic cup with a straw in it while walking into the courtroom to take the bench.

"Please come to order."

Judge Roland says the state bar has disabled the chat on the Zoom stream to preserve the integrity of the proceedings, which means I can't tune into the chat if I start getting homesick for vicious Internet fighting a la Tory Lanez's trial for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

When we sat down in the courtroom, I remarked to the reporters near me that we should tally the number of times Judge Roland says "Don't interrupt me." She was on a tear with it during the pre-trial. And we have our first tally mark: She just said it to one of Eastman's lawyer.

As you can see from the live stream, Eastman's attorneys tried to persuade Judge Roland to reverse her rulings on a couple motions in limine but were rejected. Both were about proposed expert witnesses, Joseph Fried and John Valentine. Neither is being allowed to testify.

For some reason I can't get the state bar court docket to come up right now (maybe it's just me or maybe it's overloaded with traffic today), but all the documents in Eastman's case (and all others) are available for free online. As they should be. apps.statebarcourt.ca.gov/dockets.aspx

The reporters sitting in press row for John Eastman's disbarment hearing are an eclectic bunch, of course.

We've got representatives from the Associated Press, NPR, Law360, Steve Bannon's War Room and the Los Angeles Daily Journal. And me.

Judge Roland read aloud a list of witnesses Eastman is now NOT going to call. One jumped out to me: Peter Navarro. Another Orange County guy!

Navarro is a former UC Irvine professor turned Trump staffer currently charged with contempt for dodging a @January6thCmte deposition.

We're on a 15-minute break right now. Apparently the lunch break is 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 pm. I'm not sure how long opening statements will be, but I really doubt John Eastman will finish testifying today.

The break is a good chance to reminisce about another high-profile state bar case I covered in this courtroom: Thieving lawyer Michael Avenatti, who actually seriously was arrested by the feds during his disbarment hearing.

I'm not sure Eastman will be able to top that today.

It's 10 minutes after the break was supposed to end, and we're still on a break, and the consensus in press row is this hearing may never actually end.

At the pace they're going now, and the leisurely 10 a.m. start time, I don't see how this hearing only takes eight days.

It's unclear what's prolonging this break. Eastman is seated at the defense table with his lawyers, and state bar prosecutors are at their table.

Perhaps Judge Roland had to run to go re-fill her 32-ounce cup real quick? You'd think she'd have an assistant for that.

We're back on the record as of a few minutes ago. We have 35 minutes before 12:30 break, but Judge Roland says, "We'll probably take the lunch break later than I indicated."
Roland will allow Professor John Yoo to observe Eastman's testimony, and testimony of state bar expert.

There was some discussion about logistics regarding Yoo's availability to watch Eastman's testimony, but Roland says, "We can't wait until tomorrow to get started."

But at the rate we're going, it may very well be tomorrow before this hearing actually gets started.

Judge Roland has a message for Zoom crowd: "For those who are in the attendee pool" don't bother "with raising your hand or using the raised hand option."

"You will not be recognized. … Do not raise your hand."

Judge Roland took a firm approach to the would-be hand raisers on Zoom. I'm not sure what she thinks would happen in here if people on the Zoom stream started raising their hands en mass, but it sounds like she doesn't want to find out.

We're moving into opening statements now. Mercifully, state bar court rules limit openings to 30 minutes. Attorneys don't have to give them, but state bar prosecutors says they're giving one and he walks to the lectern.

State Bar Prosecutor Duncan Carling says John Eastman's post-election actions were "completely unsupported by historical precedent or law, and contrary to our values as a nation."

"He was fully aware in real time that his plan was damaging the nation."

Eastman's lawyer Randy Miller:

"In my extensive research, I was not able to find anything else quite like this case and the issues the court is prepared to deal with. We'll work hard and try to present the evidence on behalf of Dr. Eastman in an orderly way."

Miller says Eastman can't be disciplined for advocating positions he as a lawyer obligated to present for his client. He says Eastman's email exchange with Pence adviser Greg Jacobs was, "An honest debate held in good faith."

The email exchange between John Eastman and Greg Jacob (no s) that Eastman's lawyer called "two smart people" debating a constitutional issue includes the email in which Jacob tells Eastman, "And thanks to your bullshit, we are under siege."

We're on the lunch break as of a few minutes ago. John Eastman will begin testifying when we return. legalaffairsandtrials.com/subscribe

There are waiting areas in the state bar building, with chairs and couches, but for some undisclosed reason, the @StateBarCA refuses to let us sit in them. Instead, we’re told we have to wait outside the building until the trial begins again at 1:45 p.m.

Ok that tweet did it - they let us in the building. 10 minutes until trial picks back up and Eastman takes the stand.

I must've cursed @StateBarCA court by boldly tweeting earlier that, unlike @LASuperiorCourt, this proceeding will start on time. Because things are feeling very LA Superior Court-like around here. 11 minutes past the scheduled end of lunch and there's no sign of Judge Roland.

Earlier quote from Carling: "...whipping large numbers of people into a frenzy over something with no chance of ever obtaining legal force through actual process of law."

(No, he wasn't talking about Tory Lanez's motion for new trial. He was talking about John Eastman.)

For the record, it's now 18 minutes past the scheduled 1:45 start time and there is still no sign of Judge Roland or her 32-ounce plastic up with a straw.

OK here we go. Judge Roland has taken the bench, and I can see that her cup is visible in the online stream. (I'm in the back in the red shirt. 👋)

John Eastman should be taking the stand soon.

John Eastman takes the stand!

"Mr Eastman," the clerk begins, then corrects himself, "Dr. Eastman."

Eastman takes the oath and spells his name.

State Bar Prosecutor Duncan Carling is staying seated to ask questions instead of going to the lectern.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter makes his first appearance in the hearing, sort of, as Carling displays a declaration from the @ChapmanU email case that includes the case number, which has DOC in it aka Carter's initials.

Carling pressing Eastman about testimony to Georgia Senate that 66,000 underage people voted in the 2020 election. Eastman said he got figure from Bryan Geels but is taking issue with Carling's and the Georgia Secretary of State's characterization of what Geels said.

Eastman says of Geels, "I subsequently learned much later that he had transposed numbers, and that particular category was more like 2,000." But he says the report was not about voters, it was about people registered.

"It's a clear mischaracterization of what Mr. Geels claimed."

The West OC Republican Women Federated made clear their views on this state bar hearing in their new dinner flyer.

"John Eastman is one of President Trump's attorneys fighting the stolen 2020 election. For this he has come under relentless 'lawfare' attack from the radical left"

Apparently Eastman's GOP dinner hosts in Orange County next month believe the @StateBarCA is conspiring to rid Republicans of good lawyers.

"The condemnations on Eastman is part of a scheme to prevent Republican or Conservative Patriots from securing legal representation."

Carling asks Eastman if he believed on Dec. 3, 2020, when testifying to Georgia legislative committee, that Trump won the election.
"I don't believe that's what I said in my testimony," Eastman says.
He says he thought there were issues that warranted investigation.

Eastman says he "was a little bit under the weather with 104-degree temperature" in the weeks after the election, when answering why he didn't see certain information that contradicted his claims.

Carling played a clip from Eastman's testimony in Georgia in which he says legislature they have "a duty" to hold a special election or move in alternate electors.
Carling moved onto Wisconsin, but now we're back to Georgia. I'm backing off on tweeting to work on an article.

We're doing that thing again where instead of being back in session, we're all sitting around wondering why we're not in session, and Judge Roland isn't in sight. It's almost 4 p.m. and she hasn't said when this is going to end. Maybe cut the break and get started, @StateBarCA ?

Judge Roland returned a few minutes ago, and she had a question for Eastman. She asked how he thinks Georgia electors are chosen. "My understanding is they had a popular election..."

Still no word on how late we're going to go. I wouldn't think later than 5, but who knows.

Carling asks Eastman if he called Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel with Trump on the line in early December 2020.

"I didn't call her. I think the White House called her and had me on the phone," Eastman says.

"I don't remember the substance of the conversation."

Eastman doesn't dispute McDaniel's recollection of the call - that they asked about the GOP helping find alternate electors.
He says he doesn't recall conversation, but "this is line with the position that I believe to be true."

My article is taking shape as the afternoon drags on, and it's going to focus on John Eastman and Judge Roland's divergent views on attorney-client privilege.

Judge Roland's temperament is about the same as it was during Avenatti's 2019 state bar hearing, FYI.

Still no word on when she's doing to end for the day.

She teased us with this, "OK, this will be question #1 tomorrow," but then told prosecutor to move to another question.

From the DMs: "Yeah she is not good at this. All of this feels very minor leagues. Carling is pretty good, so is Miller. But the judge seems like she has a very surface-level understanding of the issue."

Seriously. It's going to be a looooong trial.

And we're done for the day. Thankfully. Time for me to (hopefully) get a photo of Eastman and his lawyers leaving, then escape from LA. Thanks to everyone who followed along today. Subscribe to my website to get my articles in your email. legalaffairsandtrials.com/subscribe