John Eastman, lawyer who pushed Pence to overturn election, sought pardon after Jan. 6

John Eastman, the attorney who repeatedly claimed former Vice President Mike Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election, suggested not long after the Capitol riot that he receive a presidential pardon, the Jan. 6 committee revealed during its third public hearing on Thursday.

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The panel on Thursday shared video testimony from top White House adviser and lawyer Eric Herschmann, who said Eastman kept pushing for a way to overturn President Biden's win. "And I said to him, 'Are you out of your effing mind?'" Herschmann told the committee of the pair's conversation. After urging Eastman to focus instead on an orderly transition of position, Herschmann advised that his counterpart "get a great effing criminal defense lawyer" because "you're going to need it." "And I hung up on him," Herschmann continued.

Then, a few days later, per the committee, Eastman emailed former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani requesting a pardon from Trump. "I've decided that I should be on the pardon list if that is still in the works," Eastman wrote. In the end, he was not on the president's list.

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Much of Thursday's hearing revolved around Eastman's sustained push for Pence to overturn the election, despite his understanding his argument lacked legal merit. Investigators also discussed Trump's attempts to pressure Pence into listening to Eastman.

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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.