A Trump lawyer wrote an instruction manual for a coup. Why haven't you seen it on the news?

[dajoki]

A Trump lawyer wrote an instruction manual for a coup. Why haven’t you seen it on the news?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/sullivan-eastman-memo/2021/09/29/68d93000-211f-11ec-9309-b743b79abc59_story.html

In a normal world, the “Eastman memo” would be infamous by now, the way “Access Hollywood” became the popular shorthand in 2016 for the damning recording of Donald Trump’s bragging about groping women.

But it’s a good bet that most people have never even heard of the Eastman memo.

That says something troubling about how blasé the mainstream press has become about the attempted coup in the aftermath of the 2020 election — and how easily a coup could succeed next time.

The memo, unearthed in Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book, is a stunner. Written by Trump legal adviser John Eastman — a serious Establishment Type with Federalist Society cred and a law school deanship under his belt — it offered Mike Pence, then in his final days as vice president, a detailed plan to declare the 2020 election invalid and give the presidency to Trump.

In other words, how to run a coup in six easy steps.

Pretty huge stuff, right? You’d think so, but the mainstream press has largely looked the other way. Immediately after the memo was revealed, according to a study by left-leaning Media Matters for America, there was no on-air news coverage — literally zero on the three major broadcast networks: ABC, NBC and CBS. Not on the evening newscasts watched by more than 20 million Americans, far greater than the audience for cable news. Not on the morning shows the next day. And when Sunday rolled around, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the only broadcast network show that bothered to mention it. (Some late-night hosts did manage to play it for laughs.)

snip//

[overleft]

1. tfg's supporters own the tv news literally.

[Captain Zero]

2. And now if one of them does cover it...

There will be a chorus from the halls of the rightwing that it is "Old News" and nobody else even covered it at all.

See how they get away with it?

[George II]

9. The DOJ will NOT comment about ongoing investigations. You want hourly updates?

[ancianita]

4. The Eastman Memo! Lock him up! He is guilty of Attempted Conspiracy to nullify the popular vote in

four states -- WI, MI, PA and AZ. And Congress persons went along with him as Accessories After the Fact. Voter Nullification is unconstitutional.

...On February 1, 2010, Eastman resigned as Dean of the Chapman University School of Law to pursue the Republican nomination for California Attorney General.[27] On April 1, a Superior Court judge denied Eastman's choice for ballot designation, "Assistant Attorney General", fearing that use of this title, granted by South Dakota for his work on a lawsuit, would be misperceived as a California title. The judge further denied Eastman's second choice, "Taxpayer Advocate/Attorney", but accepted his third choice, "Constitutional Law Attorney". Such designations typically reflect a candidate's current employment or elected office.[28] Eastman finished second in the three-way Republican primary with 34.2% of the vote, behind Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who received 47.3%.[29] Cooley advanced to the 2010 California Attorney General election, where he was defeated by Kamala Harris...

August 2020, Newsweek published an op-ed by Eastman questioning 2020 vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris's eligibility for the office. He asserted she could not be a U.S. citizen by birth despite being born in Oakland, California, if neither of her parents was a permanent resident at the time of her birth. Eastman said that she could have subsequently obtained citizenship derived from the naturalization of her parents if one of them had become a citizen prior to her 16th birthday in 1980, which would have allowed Harris to fulfill the nine-year citizenship requirement required to become a senator.[41]

Many prominent legal scholars disagreed with Eastman's position, and many compared it to the birtherism theory against President Barack Obama. Newsweek defended the column, while acknowledging that it was "horrified that this op-ed gave rise to a wave of vile Birtherism directed at Senator Harris".

Eastman represented U.S. President Donald Trump in a motion to intervene in Texas v. Pennsylvania, a case filed directly in the U.S. Supreme Court by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, in which the state of Texas sought to annul the voting processes and, by extension, the electoral college results of at least four other states. Eastman’s brief included an array of unfounded claims and asserted “It is not necessary for [Trump] to prove that fraud occurred” and asserted it was enough to show that elections “materially deviated” from the intent of state lawmakers, adding, “By failing to follow the rule of law, these officials put our nation's belief in elected self-government at risk.”[48][49][50] Two days later, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, finding that Texas did not have standing. It did not address the merits of any of Texas's claims...

January 2, 2021, Eastman reportedly participated in a Zoom call that Trump joined in which legislators from Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin talked about allegations of voter fraud.[53][54] On January 5, 2021, Eastman met with Vice President Mike Pence in the Oval Office to argue incorrectly that the vice president has the constitutional authority to alter or otherwise change electoral votes.[55] Pence rejected Eastman's argument and instead agreed with his counsel, Greg Jacob, and conservative legal scholars and other Pence advisors, such as John Yoo and J. Michael Luttig. Pence later released a letter stating he would not attempt to intervene in the certification process...


Eastman is a lousy lawyer and a crazy person. He should lose his license for fomenting rule of men over rule of law.

[llashram]

7. rule of white men

over law. America is still, has always been and will probably stay one of the most racist countries in the world...1619-present.

[ancianita]

8. cool but my point

is that he's guilty of fomenting conspiracy, along with that other Council on National Policy group... maybe unconnected but both still wanting a plutocratic kleptocracy, not democracy

[llashram]

14. got it

yet...I'm just tired after that former guy rubbing race in everyone's face during his 4 years. I'm tired I tell you, just tired of these clowns who rule like they are above the rule of law and everyone NOT like them. POC especially.

[ancianita]

15. Right??

I’m sofa king tired of it all. So. We have got to get them! So that this evil crap is temporary.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread dajoki.

[dajoki]

16. You're welcome Uncle Joe

[Ray Bruns]

6. Simple reason.

It's not a story about a white blonde pretty girl murdered by her fiance.

[kairos12]

10. Not a slogan of three words or less.

[BobTheSubgenius]

11. The lack of pitchforks, torches and villagers is bewildering.

[Runningdawg]

13. I DID hear it, but I can't tell you on which network

Hubby left the TV on in another room when he went to take a shower. If I had to guess I would say it was Nightline. It defiantly wasn't a comedy show. But the OP is right it should have been top of the hour news EVERYWHERE.