Former Trump lawyer John Eastman pleaded his Fifth Modification proper in opposition to self-incrimination and invoked attorney-client privilege Wednesday when he appeared earlier than a Fulton County grand jury investigating makes an attempt to affect the 2020 election in Georgia, his attorneys stated.
“In his look earlier than the Fulton County particular grand jury, we suggested our shopper John Eastman to say lawyer shopper privilege and the constitutional proper to stay silent the place acceptable,” the attorneys, Charles Burnham and Harvey Silverglate, stated in a press release. “Out of respect for grand jury secrecy we won’t disclose the substance of the questions or testimony. We want to thank the grand jurors for his or her service.”
Eastman is amongst a gaggle of former President Donald Trump’s allies, together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who’ve been subpoenaed by the particular grand jury in Fulton County.
Eastman, thought-about a key participant within the former president and his allies’ unsuccessful makes an attempt to reverse the 2020 presidential election outcomes, has come beneath scrutiny for writing memos about how then-Vice President Mike Pence may attempt to overturn the outcomes. Final 12 months, a federal judge found that Trump and Eastman “possible” attempted to obstruct the joint session of Congress known as to certify Joe Biden’s electoral victory Jan. 6, 2021.
Eastman additionally testified earlier than Georgia legislators after the election, arguing that lawmakers had “greater than sufficient” proof of fraud to select an alternate slate of presidential electors for the state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported final month. The subpoena for Eastman stated he “suggested lawmakers that that they had each the lawful authority and a ‘obligation’ to interchange the Democratic Celebration’s slate of presidential electors, who had been licensed because the duly appointed electors for the state of Georgia after the November 2020 election, attributable to unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud inside the state.”
The particular grand jury was impaneled this 12 months to help Fulton County District Lawyer Fani Willis’ investigation into whether or not there have been any “coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the end result of the 2020 elections” in Georgia.
