In the weeks after the 2020 election, conservative lawyer John Eastman wrote a memo outlining how then–Vice President Mike Pence could reject certified Electoral College votes and keep Trump in power. It wasn’t a misunderstanding. It was a roadmap to overturn an election using fake electors, procedural chaos, and pressure on one man — Pence — to break the law.
What the memo said
The Eastman plan called for Pence to refuse to count votes from several Biden-won states. He argued, without legal precedent, that the Vice President had the “sole authority” to decide which electors to accept. The memo also suggested delaying certification long enough to send the decision back to state legislatures, where Trump allies could install alternate electors.
Why it was unconstitutional
- The Constitution and the Electoral Count Act assign the Vice President a ceremonial role — to open and count, not judge or reject votes.
- No credible legal scholar supported Eastman’s theory. His own emails later showed he admitted it would lose “9–0” at the Supreme Court.
- Pence’s legal team and the Justice Department both said there was no lawful path to follow Eastman’s advice.
What actually happened
Trump and Eastman pushed Pence publicly and privately to act on the plan. When Pence refused, Trump turned his speech on January 6 into an attack. Protesters chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” Hours later, Eastman emailed Trump’s staff blaming Pence for “causing this chaos.”
The evidence trail
- DOJ indictment, United States v. Trump et al. (2023)
- NPR — The Eastman Memo
- CNN — Eastman emails show awareness of illegality
- Politico — Eastman faces bar discipline trial
Why this one memo mattered
The Eastman memo gave the “Stop the Steal” movement a legal costume. It looked official, cited constitutional clauses, and gave political cover to a coup attempt dressed up as a debate. It was not scholarship. It was strategy — and it almost worked.