Trump-linked lawyer John Eastman appeared before the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury Wednesday, according to his lawyers.
Eastman invoked his Fifth Amendment rights “where appropriate” during his testimony, said a statement from his legal counsel from Burnham & Gorokhov, PLLC. The grand jury subpoenaed him earlier this summer, seeking answers about machinations he participated in to challenge the 2020 election.
FULTON COUNTY REACHES ‘ABOUT 60%’ OF WITNESS TESTIMONY NEEDED FOR ELECTION INQUIRY
“By all indications, the District Attorney’s Office has set itself on an unprecedented path of criminalizing controversial or disfavored legal theories, possibly in hopes that the federal government will follow its lead,” his lawyers wrote in a statement. “We ask all interested observers of any political persuasion to join us in decrying this.”
Amid the fallout of the 2020 election, Eastman devised legal strategies on how then-President Donald Trump could challenge his electoral defeat. This included the use of an alternative slate of electors who Eastman theorized could be called upon in the event that legal challenges against the election prevailed in court.
After a handful of Republicans in states like Georgia came forward as an alternative slate of electors, Trump allies used their existence to justify calls for then-Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election, Politico reported, though none of the state legislatures designated the alternative slate as electors.
Eastman has clashed with the Jan. 6 committee in court over documents congressional investigators have sought, with some success, for their inquiry into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
During his testimony before the Jan. 6 committee last year, Eastman reportedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. In June, he claimed to have been “frisked” by FBI agents, indicating that the Justice Department was interested in his work as part of its sprawling Jan. 6 investigation.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether crimes were committed in Georgia during the fallout from the 2020 election. Her inquiry was sparked by audio that surfaced of a call Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he emphasized the need to “find” 11,780 votes — enough to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In May, a special grand jury was impaneled to aid in the investigation. Eastman is the latest Trump ally to deliver testimony to the inquiry. Lawyers Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani have also reportedly made appearances before the panel.
In addition, investigators have their sights set on testimony from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), who have fought subpoenas for testimony in court. On Monday, a judge rejected Kemp’s bid to quash the subpoena against him but delayed testimony until after the midterm elections. Willis recently estimated that the grand jury has secured “about 60%” of the testimony being sought.
