In an interview, John Eastman reiterated his belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. He argued that the threat from the modern left has become so intolerable that it justifies overthrowing the government. Eastman claimed the stakes represent an existential threat to the nation’s survival. While he did not mention specific voter fraud, he cited government agencies suppressing information as justification for not sitting idly by. Eastman’s remarks appear to repeat the suggestion that overthrowing the government is legitimate to stop what he sees as threats from the left. However, his own actions and statements around January 6 have been mischaracterized according to Eastman.

  • grue@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    “Eastman Commits More Sedition”

    Fixed your headline, Talking Points Memo.

  • cassetti@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    This is intentional - they’re trying to lay the groundwork for Trump’s Jan6 indictment defense: He was simply taking the advice of his lawyer in good faith that he believed he had actually won the election.

    What they don’t realize is that this is a trap by Jack Smith - because that enables the prosecutors to look into Trumps communications with his lawyers - https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/jack-smith-has-set-a-trap-for-trump?sd=pf

    • Unaware7013@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Even aside from that, they wont be able to argue that he believed it in good faith when they’ve got TONS of advisers refuting that, even instances of contemporaneous public refutations from people within Trump’s circle.

      We thought we’d already seen Stupid Watergate, and it just keeps getting stupider…

    • venusenvy47@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Doesn’t this quote from the article make it seem like Trump was making his own decision:

      " … claimed that Trump himself read a series of academic law review articles about the Electoral Count Act to brush up on the relevant law."

  • ALostInquirer@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Eastman claimed the stakes represent an existential threat to the nation’s survival.

    Isn’t this more of a conflation of conservative policies with the nation itself? That is, if one supposes from Eastman & conservatives’ perspectives that conservative policies more accurately represent the nation, then their waning popularity in favor of liberal/leftist policies is the so-called “existential threat”.

    Of course, the problem then becomes that the “solution” is essentially a seizing of power and the diminishment and outlawing of any oppositional policies and ideologies, which one may increasingly observe across various states’ passage of laws.

    • Arkham@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      This is what they mean by all the “real American” rhetoric. It’s a rhetorical shortcut to ignore the increasing popularity of economic and social policies they don’t like and declare the ones they do like are the only ones that count.

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    He really wants to believe that “the left” really represents some kind of existential threat to the country, instead of, you know, American citizens with the same rights as anyone else.

    He uses as an example that “they’re coming for your gas stoves…”

    Which isn’t true:

    https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/whats-going-on-with-the-gas-stove-ban

    So, again, it’s a matter of delusional Republicans living in an alternate reality that does not exist.