Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

LetMyPeopleVote

(180,181 posts)
25. The man behind Donald Trump's push to end birthright citizenship (suspended attorney John Eastman)
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:11 PM
Mar 31

John Eastman has been advancing his fringe interpretation of the 14th Amendment for decades.

The man behind Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd.bsky.social) 2026-03-31T14:08:51.193Z

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/31/birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-john-eastman-00851127

Long before John Eastman helped devise Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election, he had another pet cause: ending birthright citizenship.....

Yet, when Trump signed his order on the subject last year, he made no mention of the former law school dean and Supreme Court clerk’s long advocacy for the cause. And while the Justice Department’s public briefs closely track Eastman’s arguments, they don’t cite his writings or acknowledge his role as the theory’s leading evangelist.

“This is his issue,” said Linda Chavez, a longtime conservative activist and senior Reagan White House official who has sparred publicly with Eastman on the subject. “I’ve known John forever and this has been a bee in his bonnet for as long as I’ve known him.”....

Eastman has been advancing his fringe interpretation of the 14th Amendment since 2005, racking up more than 100 op-eds, interviews, law review articles, debates, speeches and legislative hearings.....

And Eastman is still battling the fallout from the 2020 election. He helped concoct the theory that Trump could cling to power by having Vice President Mike Pence refuse to count some states’ electoral votes. That didn’t persuade Pence, but did score Eastman a speaking role at Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 rally on the Ellipse, where Eastman aired unproven claims of election fraud.

He subsequently lost his professorship at Chapman University and has been suspended from practicing law in California. He’s appealing a decision calling for his permanent disbarment in that state.

Eastman needs to be finally disbarred. This asshole is a disgrace to the legal profession.

Recommendations

3 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Baby shark up that Orange Hog's pizzle. SoFlaBro Mar 30 #1
... BumRushDaShow Mar 30 #3
I'd pay good money to watch that. erronis Mar 30 #5
"We're going to need a smaller shark!" SeattleVet Mar 30 #10
Hey............ traitor my family history goes all the way back to the early 1700's in this country........... turbinetree Mar 30 #2
Quiet Piggy. Talitha Mar 30 #4
All his kids, except Tiffany, are birthright citizens. Kid Berwyn Thursday #29
THIS ... KPN Mar 30 #6
Deport Trump. SergeStorms Mar 30 #9
Trump, Republicans, and Stephen Miller popsdenver Mar 30 #7
Trump is selling citizenships. Mblaze Mar 30 #8
Wanna be Russian anchor babies live in Trump properties until their "birth-day" maspaha Mar 30 #11
That's a lie cannabis_flower Mar 30 #12
It isn't that way in Mexico LeftInTX Mar 30 #13
Shame on you Donald for talking about Barron that way!! AZ8theist Mar 31 #14
Ohhh... I see. He POSTED a rant. QueerDuck Mar 31 #15
Um lonely bird Mar 31 #16
So we think the Congress of 1866 was illiterate, Bluetus Mar 31 #17
"We are to believe they couldn't understand what the words, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States" BumRushDaShow Mar 31 #20
Trump isn't denying citizenship to "slave children" Bluetus Mar 31 #21
And that is HIS interpretation BumRushDaShow Mar 31 #22
The Senate arrived at the final language of the Citizenship Clause only after a robust debate about the implications..." pat_k Mar 31 #24
My first American ancestor arrived in Virginia in 1640. Aristus Mar 31 #18
Trump knows about enslavement. He does know about that. yardwork Mar 31 #19
NYTimes: Trump Says Birthright Citizenship Was Only for the Children of Slaves. He's Wrong. pat_k Mar 31 #23
The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act shows the limits of the everyone born interpretation. Ilikepurple Mar 31 #27
The man behind Donald Trump's push to end birthright citizenship (suspended attorney John Eastman) LetMyPeopleVote Mar 31 #25
Okay, lemme get this straight... GiqueCee Mar 31 #26
Former Trump lawyer John Eastman arriving at the Supreme Court for the birthright citizenship debate. LetMyPeopleVote Thursday #28
Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»'BABIES OF SLAVES!' Trump...»Reply #25