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January 13, 2021 04:09 PM UTC

CU Prof, Who Was Called "Fantastic" by Regent Ganahl, Pressed Pence to Block Election Confirmation

  • 11 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A visiting scholar at the University of Colorado, who was recently praised as “fantastic” by the lone Republican who holds a statewide elected position in Colorado, stood by President Trump in the White House as he desperately tried to stop Congress from declaring Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Eastman

John Eastman, a controversial conservative figure who is currently a “visiting scholar” at CU Boulder’s Benson Center, a privately funded entity that promotes conservative views, was part of a last-ditch effort to convince Vice President Mike Pence to try to block certification of the presidential election based on baseless accusations of fraud.

Eastman, who’s been a fierce promoter of Trump’s misinformation and spoke at the Trump rally prior to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was in the room as the president pressed Pence to execute an act that had no legal basis.

The New York Times reported yesterday: “In the Oval Office last week, the day before the vote, Mr. Trump pushed Mr. Pence in a string of encounters, including one meeting that lasted at least an hour. John Eastman, a conservative constitutional scholar at Chapman University, was in the office and argued to Mr. Pence that he did have the power to act.”

Eastman’s statements about election fraud were criticized last week by CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano, and faculty at Chapman University, where Eastman holds a faculty position, have asked that he be fired. Chapman’s president announced it would not fire the professor.

Heidi Ganahl
Ganahl

One of Eastman’s biggest fans at CU is CU Regent Heidi Ganahl, who holds the at-large seat on the CU Board of Regents. After Republican Sen. Cory Gardner’s loss in November, Ganahl is the only Republican who’s elected by voters statewide.

In December, Ganahl gushed over Eastman, despite his controversial statements.

“There are fantastic folks who come in [to the Benson Center],” said Ganahl in December. “Right now, it’s Dr. John Eastman, who’s riling some folks up.” Ganahl said the center teaches students about “the beauty of western civilization and the history,” and the faculty have “different point of view than most of the faculty at CU.”

Ganahl didn’t return a call seeking to know if she’d changed her view of Eastman.

Meanwhile, an progressive group aimed and empowering young people said Eastman should no longer be a visiting professor at CU.

“It’s undeniable now that Professor Eastman attempted to use the power and access granted to him as a professor to subvert democracy and enable white supremacists,” Nicole Hensel Executive Director of New Era Colorado told the Colorado Times Recorder. “Allowing him to retain his title as a visiting professor on the CU Boulder campus only enables him further—inaction sends the message that the University does not stand up for truth and integrity and that BIPOC students’ safety is not a priority.”

Eastman responded without citing evidence that election fraud has “subverted democracy.”

“State and local election officials who altered or ignored state election laws designed to protect against fraud in mail-in voting is what has subverted democracy,” Eastman emailed the Colorado Times Recorder when asked to comment on New Era’s stance. “Calling attention to that fact in formal legal pleadings before the Supreme Court of the United States, which is what I have done, is what subverts democracy.  But it seems a lot of people are having trouble with that basic concept.  As for ‘enabling white supremacists,’ I have done nothing of the sort, and would not do so.  The claim is defamatory.”

Eastman, who is also an attorney, speculated in a Newsweek op-ed last year that Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris might not be legally qualified to be vice president, eliciting accusations of birtherism. He’s said he was just raising the question.

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11 thoughts on “CU Prof, Who Was Called “Fantastic” by Regent Ganahl, Pressed Pence to Block Election Confirmation”

  1. The other Eastman story de jour:

    Denver Post:CU Boulder cancels courses taught by conservative scholar John Eastman, citing single-digit enrollment

    Eastman’s two spring semester classes were canceled Monday, said Andrew Sorensen, a CU Boulder spokesperson.

    Two students were enrolled in one of Eastman’s courses and six had signed up for the other, according to the university. The College of Arts & Sciences typically requires 15 students for an undergraduate class, Sorensen said.

     

    1. Canceled through lack of student interest.  Love it.  Students taking one down for us all.  No thanks to the pathetic CU administration of course

      1. A true conservative would say that was “the invisible hand of the market” in action. A faux conservative would just claim that they’re being repressed by mean liberals. 

  3. My earlier post and sample letter to old and newly elected regents, with links to Eastman's speech on 1/6/21:

    Sample letter to CU Regents staff regarding John Eastman:

    From: Your name and email

    To: CUBoardofRegents@cu.edu

    Cc: mark.ostrander@cu.edu, kari.henningsen@cu.edu, effie.ameen@cu.edu

    Subject: CU Visiting scholar John Eastman spoke at seditious DC rally

     Dear CU Board of Regents Staff,

     

    Please share this letter with incoming regents Callie Rennison, Ilana Spiegel, and Norbert Chavez, as well as the other Board of Regents members.

     

    Please review the attached video clip of John Eastman, your CU Visiting Scholar, speaking at the disastrous Trump  rally on January 6, 2021. Mr. Eastman speaks at 6:21.

     

    Mr. Eastman wholeheartedly supported Giulani’s call for”trial by combat”, and the disinformation about the “stolen election”.  Mr. Giulani referred to Professor Eastman as a Constitutional Law expert who could assure rally attendees that everything planned to derail electoral vote certification that day was completely legal and constitutional. More misinformation.

     

    When Professor Eastman spoke, he repeated debunked claims about Georgia clerks “pulling ballots out of boxes” to make up a Biden win. 

     

    By spreading misinformation and supporting this seditious rally, which ended in an occupation of the Capitol, great damage to historic property, and five deaths, Professor Eastman has exceeded any First Amendment protections, and is now in the category of aiding and abetting treason and violence. He is not a scholar; he is deliberately propagating disinformation for political purposes. He is a propagandist.

     

    As such, Mr. Eastman needs to be dismissed from his position of Visiting  Scholar at CU Boulder. If you want diversity of opinions, there are conservatives who are not helping violent traitors and spreading falsehoods. Check with the Lincoln project. 

     

    Sincerely, 

     

    yourname

     

    Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSB network) Clip of Professor Eastman’s speech starting at 6:51 https://youtu.be/kzs-kanwdZ0

    1. CU twists itself into pretzels trying to show that they’re a haven for free speech. So Ward Churchill was fired for plagiarism, not his statements after 9/11. 
      Scholarly misconduct is one of CU’s grounds for firing faculty. Deliberately lying about verifiable election processes, and pretending that the Constitution says something ( that the VP can overturn election results) that it does not say, are harmful “scholarly misconduct”. 

      1. So Chapman is able to get Eastman to retire effective immediately without any legal action from either party whatsoever.  CU really ,really, should be able to handle Eastman the same way and have this nonsense over with.

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