Grassley’s position generated vital intrigue within the weeks main up to Jan. 6. The Constitution requires the vice chairman — who additionally serves because the president of the Senate — to preside over the counting of electoral votes to certify the presidential election. Historically, nevertheless, this job has at occasions fallen to the “Senate president pro tempore,” sometimes essentially the most senior senator within the majority. In 2021, Grassley held that place.

California state bar legal professional Duncan Carling additionally pressed Eastman to reply to among the allegations in opposition to him within the Georgia indictment. For instance, they grilled him on his contacts with legal professional Robert Cheeley, one of many different codefendants within the Georgia case, about efforts to put Eastman in contact with Georgia legislative leaders. (Eastman stated these contacts have been attorney-client privileged as properly).

And Carling probed his relationship with legal professional Kenneth Chesebro, one other Trump codefendant who was an architect of the last-ditch authorized technique Trump deployed to try to stay in energy. Chesebro wrote memos that helped drive Trump’s efforts to assemble false slates of pro-Trump presidential electors in seven states gained by Joe Biden, and stated it was essential that these “contingent” electors collect and vote on Dec. 14, 2020, on the identical day that Biden’s state-certified electors solid their very own ballots.

Eastman indicated that he had a minimal relationship with Chesebro till late December, whilst he, too, pushed for the pro-Trump “alternate” electors to meet. “I didn’t directly deal with Mr. Chesebro at that time,” Eastman stated.

Rather, he stated others in Trump’s orbit forwarded him a few of Chesebro’s memos. And Eastman prompt that he by no means noticed one key memo — a Dec. 6, 2020 doc just lately unearthed by the New York Times — till bar attorneys confirmed it to him this week.

Eastman’s restricted contact with Chesebro modified later in December, Eastman stated, when he instantly sought Chesebro’s enter on a now-infamous two-page memo he authored that laid out a set of choices for Pence on Jan. 6. Eastman stated Wednesday that Chesebro “added a paragraph and changed some words” in that memo. A Dec. 23, 2020 e-mail unearthed by the Jan. 6 choose committee hinted at Chesebro’s position in that memo.

“I’m fine with all of Ken’s edits,” Eastman wrote within the message to Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, with an attachment titled “PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL — Dec 23 memo on Jan. 6 scenario.”

It was that very same e-mail wherein Eastman additionally hinted that he thought Grassley would possibly play a task on Jan. 6. In the message, Eastman advised Epshteyn that he hoped members of Congress would keep away from taking any actions that may “constrain Pence (or Grassley)” from asserting the facility to block Biden’s election.

Carling requested Eastman whether or not the e-mail prompt there had been discussions about Grassley filling in for Pence. After Eastman indicated the matter was privileged, Carling moved on to one other subject.

But the change underscores that there are nonetheless vital unknown particulars about the behind-the-scenes planning by Trump and his allies forward of Jan. 6.

Grassley began a furor on Jan. 5, 2021, when he advised reporters of Pence “we don’t expect him to be there, I will be presiding over the Senate.” His feedback prompted an pressing rush by Pence’s employees to right the report, finally leading to an announcement from Grassley’s workplace indicating the senator had been “misinterpreted” and was merely saying he would possibly fill in for Pence throughout some parts of the proceedings that day.

Eastman wasn’t the one one who had talked about the opportunity of Grassley presiding. Chesebro additionally mused in a Dec. 13, 2021 e-mail that Pence may voluntarily step apart from his Jan. 6 position and permit it to fall to “Chuck Grassley or another senior Republican.”

Eastman has taken the stand on at the very least 4 totally different days in a disbarment trial that started in June however was postponed for 2 months amid scheduling constraints. The Georgia indictment unveiled final month threatened to upend the California proceedings; Eastman unsuccessfully pleaded together with his California choose to delay his disbarment trial till after the Georgia case had ended. After shedding that effort, Eastman opted to retake the stand and has taken a barrage of questions about his efforts and intentions forward of Jan. 6.

Aides to Trump and Grassley, in addition to an legal professional for Chesebro, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.