S9 Ep. 18: Eastman's prophecy
AJC journalists Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman explore the possible ramifications of emails exchanged between attorney John Eastman and other Trump lawyers about how to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Episode 18 of the Breakdown podcast, hosted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, titled "S9 Ep. 18: Eastman's prophecy" was published on July 14, 2025 and runs 34 minutes.
July 14, 2025 ·34m · Breakdown
Summary
In an email sent Dec. 31, 2020, attorney John Eastman shared a thought with fellow members of then-President Donald Trump’s legal team. “I have no doubt that an aggressive DA or U.S. Attorney some place will go after both the president and his lawyers once the dust settles on this,” Eastman wrote. Eastman, a former law school dean, was one of the architects behind the fake elector scheme and he authored legal memos detailing a plan in which Vice President Mike Pence could refuse to count some of President Joe Biden’s votes. As for his email, Eastman turned out to be right. He, the former president and other members of the legal team now find themselves under investigation by a Fulton County special purpose grand jury. Episode 18 of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Breakdown podcast explores the possible ramifications of emails exchanged between Eastman and other Trump lawyers. The emails were turned over to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and obtained by the news organization Politico. The ninth season of Breakdown – “The Trump Grand Jury” – is closely following the special purpose grand jury probe of possible interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Episode 18 also covers the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to avoid testifying before the special grand jury. And it explains what happened in a Virginia courtroom where former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also sought to avoid traveling to Atlanta to testify. You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices