Alice Barrett has logged in at 2023-12-28 16:28:23
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University of Colorado Boulders Conservative Thought and Policy Visiting Scholar John Eastman speaks at a news conference outside of CU Boulder Thursday, April 29, 2021, about his plans to sue the university.

Andy Cross | Denver Post | Getty Images

An attorney who had been pushing to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by refusing to answer questions during an appearance Wednesday before a Georgia grand jury , said his lawyers.

John Eastman also invoked the protection of attorney-client privilege when he refused to answer at least some questions put to him before the grand jury convened as part of a criminal investigation into the possibility of illegal interference in Georgia’s presidential campaign, said his lawyers.

Eastman is among a group of Trump allies subpoenaed by this panel hearing witnesses in Atlanta. A second ally, Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, was named as a target of this investigation and recently testified before the same grand jury.

Eastman wrote a series of memos after the 2020 election urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to effectively reverse President Joe Biden’s victory by refusing to confirm Electoral College results.

“In his appearance before the Fulton County Special Jury, we advised our client, John Eastman, to assert attorney-client privilege and the constitutional right to remain silent,” Eastman’s attorneys Charles Burnham and Harvey Silverglate said in a statement.

“Out of respect for grand jury secrecy, we will not disclose the content of the questions or witness statements. We want to thank the grand jurors for their service,” the attorneys said.

The statement also blasted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over the investigation itself.

“All indications are that prosecutors have embarked on an unprecedented journey of criminalizing controversial or unpopular legal theories, possibly in hopes that the federal government will follow suit,” the attorneys said.

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“The criminalization of unpopular legal theories goes against every American tradition and would have ended the careers of John Adams, Ruth Ginsburg, Thurgood Marshall and many other now-celebrated American attorneys,” the statement said. Adams was the second President of the United States, while Ginsburg and Marshall were Supreme Court justices whose work during the civil rights movement helped set new legal precedents.

“We urge all interested observers of any political persuasion to join us in condemning this disturbing development,” wrote Burnham and Silverglate.

Eastman revealed last month that his cellphone was confiscated by federal agents who stopped him in New Mexico and forced him to unlock it.

This seizure came as part of an investigation by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General.

The IG’s office is investigating the role of the Justice Department and its components in “preparing for and responding” to the January 6, 2021 Trump supporters’ riots in the US Capitol, according to the office’s website. That uproar came as a joint session of Congress was called to confirm Biden’s victory, with Pence presiding over the proceedings.

A former Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, had electronic equipment confiscated from his Virginia home on the same day that Eastman’s phone was confiscated.

Clark also supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

Trump considered installing Clark as attorney general in the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, but dropped the idea after a group of senior justice officials said they would resign in protest if that happened.