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.
A view of the front portico of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
Eastman’s brief asks the Supreme Court to let Trump intervene in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s suit against four swing states won by President-elect Joe Biden.
It’s unclear when Eastman, a professor at Chapman University in California, joined Trump’s legal team, but he earned Trump’s attention in August after penning an op-ed for Newsweek purporting to ask “some questions” about whether Harris — then Biden’s running mate — is eligible to be president or vice president.
The op-ed claimed Harris, who was born in California to immigrant parents, might not be a native-born U.S. citizen because it’s unclear whether her parents were lawful permanent residents (as opposed to U.S. residents on non-immigrant visas), but this argument hinges on a bizarre reading of the 14th Amendment that nearly every expert quickly rejected.
In reality, aside from children of diplomats and other extremely specific categories, people born in the United States are automatically considered native-born citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status because, per the 14th Amendment, they’re “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.
Despite the criticism, Trump seemed open to Eastman’s theory when it was published, telling reporters Eastman “happens to be a brilliant lawyer.”
Trump’s campaign and Eastman did not respond to requests for comment.
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)
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