Inside John Eastman's California rise from GOP 'happy warrior' to Jan. 6 firebrand
The theme of the third congressional hearing on the Jan. 6 insurrection was unmistakable: John Eastman was not just a peripheral figure in the panel's investigation, but a main character. If Eastman was tuning in, though, the proceedings may have struck him as something else — a bizarro episode of "This Is Your Life."
On the dais was the panel's vice chair, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, with whom he attended University of Chicago Law School. Another alum, Greg Jacob, was at the witness table, detailing Eastman's relentless attempts to persuade Jacob's boss at the time, Vice President Mike Pence, to unilaterally block the counting of the electoral votes that would cement Joe Biden's victory.
Offering testimony at Jacob's side was retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, a foundational figure in Eastman's early legal life. Eastman's clerkship with Luttig led to yet more long-standing friendships — with Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni — that are fodder in the investigation.
Beyond happenstance or the clubbiness of conservative politics,
