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John Eastman, Trump’s lawyer on overturning election, under investigation by California Bar

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John Eastman, Trump’s lawyer on overturning election, under investigation by California Bar

Orange County lawyer John Eastman is on the heart of an ethics investigation into whether or not he violated legal guidelines whereas advising President Trump on how he might overturn his election defeat in 2020, the State Bar of California stated Tuesday.

Eastman, a former professor and dean at Chapman College’s Fowler College of Regulation, emerged as a key authorized advisor to Trump within the weeks after it was obvious he had misplaced the election to Joe Biden. Eastman wrote two authorized memos that suggested Vice President Mike Pence he might declare that the ends in a number of states have been disputed and subsequently their electoral votes would go uncounted. Doing so would have injected a brand new ingredient of uncertainty and opened the door for a number of state legislatures to recast their votes for Trump.

The State Bar’s chief trial counsel, George Cardona, introduced Tuesday that Eastman has been the middle of an investigation since September.

“A variety of people and entities have delivered to the State Bar’s consideration press stories, court docket filings, and different public paperwork detailing Mr. Eastman’s conduct,” Cardona stated in a press release.

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“We need to thank those that took the time to convey to our consideration this info, which serves as the place to begin for our investigation. We will likely be continuing with a single State Bar investigation during which we are going to proceed to collect and analyze related proof and go wherever it leads us.”

Eastman was not instantly out there for remark Tuesday. The cellphone quantity listed for his legislation follow in Anaheim was busy.

Legal professional Randall Miller, who’s representing Eastman within the state bar probe, stated his shopper expects the investigation will exonerate him.

“Dr. Eastman, a nationally acknowledged constitutional lawyer and scholar, represented former President Trump in a number of election challenges,” Miller wrote in a press release. “As was his responsibility as an lawyer, Dr. Eastman zealously represented his shopper, comprehensively exploring authorized and constitutional means to advance his shopper’s pursuits.”

Eastman is presently difficult a subpoena from the Home Choose Committee to research the Jan. 6 assault. The committee is searching for paperwork and emails Eastman despatched from his Chapman College e-mail tackle, based on court docket data filed in a California federal court docket.

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Eastman was employed at Chapman’s legislation faculty in 1999. He was dean of the varsity from June 2007 to January 2010, when he stepped right down to run unsuccessfully for California lawyer common. He remained on the school till January 2021, educating programs in constitutional legislation, property legislation, authorized historical past and the first Modification.

Eastman can be the founding director of the Middle for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public curiosity legislation agency affiliated with the Claremont Institute. The institute didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Tuesday.

In early January 2021, greater than 100 Chapman college and others affiliated with the college signed a letter calling on the personal faculty to take motion towards Eastman for his function within the occasions of Jan. 6, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Days later, Chapman College President Daniele Struppa issued a press release saying that Eastman was instantly retiring from the college.

“Dr. Eastman’s departure closes this difficult chapter for Chapman and offers probably the most quick and sure path ahead for each the Chapman group and Dr. Eastman,” Struppa wrote.

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In October, the nonpartisan authorized group States United Democracy Middle referred to as on the State Bar to research Eastman’s actions on Jan. 6.

“Legal professionals, significantly those that characterize elected and appointed officers, have a solemn responsibility to the general public to advise their purchasers throughout the 4 corners of the legislation, and to make sure that they don’t enable themselves to turn out to be the instruments by which these officers search to undermine democratic governance,” the group wrote in a letter.

The signers embody two former governors, Republican Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey and Democrat Steve Bullock of Montana; retired California Supreme Court docket Justices Kathryn Werdegar and Joseph Grodin; retired California federal Judges Thelton Henderson, Fern M. Smith and Lowell Jensen; UC Berkeley Regulation dean Erwin Chemerinsky; and Harvard legislation professor Laurence Tribe.

On the time, Eastman stated, “I belief the bar affiliation will see this because the politically motivated and defamatory assault on my authorized illustration of a controversial shopper that it’s and summarily dismiss it. But when not, I sit up for responding in full to each false assertion.”

Christine P. Solar, senior vp of authorized on the States United Democracy Middle, stated in a press release on Tuesday that the investigation is a “welcome and essential step ahead to holding democracy violators accountable, together with those that search to make use of their authorized credentials to undermine the foundations of our democracy.”

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Wylie Aitken, a longtime Orange County lawyer and Chapman trustee, stated he commends the state bar for launching an investigation into Eastman’s actions, which he referred to as an “assault on democracy.”

“I hope they’ll act on this as a result of this isn’t a free speech problem, as some want to characterize it,” he stated.

Chemerinsky, UC Berkeley’s legislation faculty dean, stated it’s essential that the nation doesn’t trivialize what occurred on Jan. 6.

“John Eastman was the architect of an tried coup on this nation,” Chemerinsky instructed The Occasions on Tuesday. “It’s not like something we’ve ever seen on this nation, as he fomented the coup, and tried to disrupt the hallmarks of democracy: the peaceable switch of energy.”

Chemerinsky doesn’t assume any lawyer ought to be disciplined for protected free speech, however Eastman’s actions went far past the kind of speech that advocates for a place.

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“It’s apparent, I consider, that there’s sufficient there to research,” Chemerinsky stated.

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.” 

“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote. 

Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.

TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS

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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.

U.S. Border Patrol agents cut an opening through razor wire after immigrant families crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.

LIBERAL NANTUCKET REELS FROM MIGRANT CRIME WAVE AS BIDEN SPENDS THANKSGIVING IN RICH FRIEND’S MANSION

Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.

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TEXAS BORDER RAZOR WIRE

A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.” 

“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”

Texas border

Migrants attempt to cross the southern border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in February. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration. 

In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.

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The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”

Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”

Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.

In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.

She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”

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“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.

Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.

Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.

The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.

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Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.

Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”

The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”

Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.

One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.

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Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.

Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously. 

“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family. 

“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”

Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump. 

HARRIS NEVER LED TRUMP, INTERNAL POLLS SHOWED — BUT DNC OFFICIALS WERE KEPT IN THE DARK

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President Elect Donald Trump, left, and new appointed Tom Homan, right (Getty)

“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”

Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.

ARMED FELON ARRESTED FOR THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP ATTENDED RALLY WEEKS AFTER BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Donald Trump in a blue suit and red tie pumps his fist in the air and looks up

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

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“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.” 

Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. 

Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family. 

Trump holds fist

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.  Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”

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“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”

Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”

“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”

The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

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