A great deal of things took place. Here are a few of the important things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Register for the e-mail variation
The Closest We Get To A Jan. 6 Verdict Before November?
With the Jan. 6 case versus Donald Trump ground to a stop and the no genuine possibility of the Georgia RICO case versus him reaching a decision before November, the other day’s judgment versus Trump co-defendant John Eastman in California might be the closest we get to a taste of a Jan. 6 decision before Election Day.
In advising that Eastman be disbarred for his function in the conspiracy to reverse the 2020 election, a state judge provided a blistering judgment that dealt with the autocoup with the historical severity it is worthy of. It followed a complete evidentiary record was established over months and comprehensive legal argument, like a full-blown trial. Eastman prepares to appeal, and eventually the state Supreme Court will choose whether he’ll be disbarred, however in the meantime he is suspended from practicing law.
Some highlights from the 128-page judgment by state Judge Yvette Roland:
“Most of his misbehavior took place directly within the course and scope of Eastman’s representation of President Trump and culminated with a shared strategy to block the legal function of the federal government.”
“The proof plainly and convincingly shows that Eastman and President Trump participated in a contract to block the Joint Session of Congress by unlawfully having Vice President Pence decline or postpone the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021.”
In amount, Eastman showed gross carelessness by making incorrect declarations about the 2020 election without carrying out any significant examination or confirmation of the info he was trusting.
A reward referral to Watergate figure Donald Segretti, whose own disbarment case in California was pointed out:
The scale and egregiousness of Eastman’s dishonest actions far exceeds the misbehavior at concern in SegrettiUnlike Segretti whose offenses took place outside his function as a lawyer, Eastman’s misdeed was dedicated straight in the course and scope of his representation of President Trump and the Trump Campaign. This is a crucial element, as it makes up an essential breach of a lawyer’s core ethical responsibilities. Furthermore, while the Segretti court discovered engaging mitigation based upon his revealed regret and acknowledgment of his misbehavior, no such mitigating element exists with Eastman.
A number of years earlier, as the bar procedures versus different Trump world figures were getting underway, I admit I grew impatient when my reporting group kept tingling about this or that procedural advancement. Disbarment is weak tea for what we’re handling here, I would firmly insist. And yet here we are with just the bar procedures having actually offered anything like a degree of responsibility in a prompt style.
Jeff Clark Takes The 5th In Disbarment Hearing
Chris Hayes and the gang had a little bit of enjoyable with Trump DOJ main Jeff Clark consistently taking the 5th while on the stand the other day in his DC disbarment hearing:
Throughout a disbarment hearing,