Trump’s New Lawyer Has Promoted Birther Conspiracy Theories About Kamala Harris’ Citizenship

Topline

As promised, President Donald Trump asked to join Texas’ longshot Supreme Court bid to overturn his electoral losses on Wednesday, but the president’s motion was not signed by a member of his campaign’s fabled “elite strike force” of public-facing lawyers — instead, the attorney of record is John C. Eastman, a conservative law professor best-known for dubiously arguing that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris might not be a native-born U.S. citizen.

Key Facts

Chief Critic

After Eastman’s op-ed was published, he immediately caught flack from lawyers who considered his argument ludicrous, with Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe calling it “idiotic.” Plus, many observers likened his suspicion of Harris, who is set to be the first woman of color to serve as vice president, to the racist “birther” myth that falsely suggested former President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Newsweek apologized days after Eastman’s op-ed was published, acknowledging it was “used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia.” But Trump, who spent years spreading birther conspiracy theories about Obama before he ran for president, might not see this connection as a damning liability.

Key Background

The state of Texas is suing Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin for perceived (and generally unproven) election irregularities, and is urging the Supreme Court to overturn those states’ Biden wins. The suit is unprecedented in scope, and most legal experts believe it’s extremely unlikely to succeed. But for Trump and his allies, who have filed dozens of ultimately unsuccessful lawsuits aimed at reversing Trump’s electoral loss, it appears to be a last-gasp attempt to prevent Biden from being inaugurated.

Further Reading

17 States Agree The Supreme Court Should Overturn Biden’s Win (Forbes)