At GOP convention, ex-Trump lawyer says battle to keep California legal license cost $750k

John C. Eastman, an ex-attorney for former President Donald Trump, told Republicans at last weekend’s state GOP convention that his legal bills for a fight with the California State Bar have so far cost $750,000.

The prominent conservative lawyer could lose his license to practice in California after a judge recommended he be disbarred for “exceptionally serious ethical violations” stemming from his alleged role in advising Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence about strategies to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Eastman called it “the longest and most expensive bar disciplinary proceeding in history” during a meeting of Republicans at the convention, where he passed out envelopes and asked for donations to his legal fund.

He is accused of putting forward legal theories and scenarios under which Pence could reject electoral votes from certain states to hand the election to Trump. He is facing criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona over the matter.

Eastman has appealed the disbarment decision by the state bar court. The issue is expected to go before the California Supreme Court and he is suspended from practicing law in the state while the fight plays out.

He told Republicans Saturday he is “unindicted co-conspirator No. 2 in DC, indicted co-conspirator No. 3 in Georgia, and as of two weeks ago, indicted co-conspirator No. 13 in Arizona.”

State party chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said Eastman was “not doing anything affiliated with the California Republican Party” at the convention. She added Republicans “have serious concerns” the justice system has been “weaponized” against Trump and his allies.

During their convention, California Republicans approved a resolution condemning “political persecutions” and “legal warfare aka lawfare” against Trump and others indicted in his criminal cases.