New video of pro-Trump lawyer is 'completely damning': legal expert

Conservative Claremont Institute lawyer John Eastman made an "incredibly damning" admission in a new video, a former federal prosecutor explained on CNN on Wednesday.

"The House select committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection expected to hand down another subpoena today, this time for John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who worked with former President Trump's legal team," CNN's Erica Hill reported.

"The committee says Eastman tried to convince then Vice President Pence that he could overturn — overturn — the election results which, of course, Pence could not, legally, and ultimately decided not to do," CNN's Jim Scuitto said. "But now, in a conversation, caught-on-camera by a Democratic activist posing as a Trump supporter, Eastman admits — admits — on tape that was indeed the plan."

EXCLUSIVE: Author of Jan 6 coup memo John Eastman told us Mike Pence didn't take his solid legal advice & overturn… https://t.co/zOPsRyRJs8

— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) 1635283625.0

For analysis, the co-hosts interviewed CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

"Eastman, after the memo that he drafted describing exactly this plan as to how the president could overturn the election, he then did an interview with the National Review online saying that's never intended to do that," Scuitto said. "Here you have him on tape saying that's exactly what we intended to do, in effect, and the only reason Pence stood in the way is he is, in Eastman's terms, 'an establishment guy.' You're a lawyer, how damning is this video for both for the investigation or any other investigation into the 2020 election?"

"Well, it is completely damning for John Eastman, Jim," Honig replied.

"Let's step back and remember who John Eastman is," he continued. "He's this lawyer who Trump discovers when he's in the process of trying to steal the election. Eastman starts telling Trump these really lunatic 'legal theories' — I put 'legal theories' in scare quotes here — on which Mike Pence can reject the electoral count."

"This tape really brings us back to reality, which is Eastman meant what he said in the memo, he was right there with Trump, trying to lead him down this very dangerous path," he concluded.

New video of pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman is 'completely damning' youtu.be