The California Supreme Court has disbarred John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who devised legal strategies to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The court upheld a lower court's finding that Eastman violated professional ethics rules by promoting false claims and a "wild theory" that Vice President Mike Pence could unilaterally declare Donald Trump the victor.

Eastman had concocted a plan involving fake electors in swing states Trump lost, aiming to block or delay certification of Joe Biden's victory on January 6, 2021. A California judge found he exhibited "gross negligence" by making false statements without conducting any meaningful investigation. The court ordered his name "stricken from the roll of attorneys" and imposed a $5,000 fine to the State Bar of California.

Eastman's lawyer, Randall Miller, called the decision a threat to attorney speech rights and plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This follows similar actions against other Trump lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani's disbarment in New York and Washington, D.C. The ruling affirms that attorneys must act with honesty and uphold the rule of law, marking a significant moment in efforts to hold accountable those who pushed false election fraud claims.