The author of the notorious "coup memo" on how Donald Trump could attempt to retain power despite losing the 2020 election had one of his legal defenses undermined by his own former university.
After being subpoenaed by the Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, attorney John Eastman sued the committee and Chapman University in a bid to keep his emails from being turned over.
But Chapman, where Eastman worked as a professor and dean of the law school, undermined that argument by telling a judge that he was not authorized to be using his work email for his activities. The committee argues that unauthorized email use invalidates attorney-client privilege.
In a new filing, the school argued, "With respect to the 2020 election, the Court already has the public statement of Chapman President Daniele Struppa on December 10, 2020. In direct reference to Eastman’s representation of the former President, that 'acting privately, Chapman faculty and staff are not free to use Chapman University’s email address, physical address or telephone number in connection with the support of a political candidate.'"
"Should the Court require information in addition to President Struppa’s statement and General Counsel DuMontelle’s declaration, Chapman can submit declarations from Matthew Parlow (the Dean of Chapman’s law school during the period covered by the Select Committee’s subpoena at issue in this proceeding), as well as the University’s President in 2000 (Jams Doti) and former Dean Williams, confirming that they never authorized Eastman to use Chapman’s resources to represent any candidate for elected office or their campaign," the school argued.
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