From a statement distributed by John Eastman’s lawyers:
I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought. It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
As troubling, it targets attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients, something attorneys are ethically bound to provide and which was attempted here by “formally challeng[ing] the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means.” – An opportunity never afforded them in the Fulton County Superior Court.
Each Defendant in this indictment, no less than any other American citizen, is entitled to rely upon the advice of counsel and the benefit of past legal precedent in challenging what former Vice President Pence described as, “serious allegations of voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law” in the 2020 election.
The attempt to criminalize our rights to such redress with this indictment will have – and is already having – profound consequences for our system of justice.
My legal team and I will vigorously contest every count of the indictment in which I am named, and also every count in which others are named, for which my knowledge of the relevant facts, law, and constitutional provisions may prove helpful.
I am confident that, when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated.
Pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman, the mastermind of the fake elector scheme, has surrendered in Fulton County.
“I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought,” Eastman said in a statement. pic.twitter.com/ow2NW6r7Ke
— The Recount (@therecount) August 22, 2023