'Conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership' (and into Alaska politics)

Eastman and Eastman (no relation)

It’s Thursday, Alaska.

In this edition: It’s been a week since the third criminal indictment against the former president was unsealed, bringing a slate of charges for attempting to stay in office through an unhinged fake elector scheme. In this edition, I want to take a moment to examine one Alaska legislator’s very close connection to Jan. 6 and at least one of Trump’s co-conspirators and how the thinking around that case presents a troubling trend for things to come.

Current mood: 🤔

Programming note: Sorry for the prolonged absence! Between the freelance crunch and a bad bout of self-doubt, this one took a while to get into shape.

‘Conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership’ (and into Alaska politics)

(Photo by Tyler Merbler/Wikimedia Creative Commons)

“When our research and campaign legal team can’t back up any of the claims made by your Elite Strike Force Legal Team, you can see why we’re 0-32 on our cases. I’ll obviously hustle to help on all fronts, but it’s tough to own any of this when it’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.” – unnamed Trump campaign advisor in a Dec. 8, 2020, email.

Last week, the long-expected indictment of former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot arrived, accusing the former president of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct Congress, obstruction of Congress and conspiracy against voting rights. The 45-page document outlines the plot that he and a cadre of six yet-to-be-charged co-conspirators set into motion to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, involving a slate of phony electors, a mountain of election lies, a pile the aforementioned “conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership” and a dose of constitutional fan fiction.

The embrace of lies and misinformation, of course, didn’t start with Trump. Still, he weaponized it in a way that continues to have long-lasting and far-reaching impacts on politics, including here in Alaska at just about every level of government.

In this edition, I want to take a moment to examine one Alaska legislator’s very close connection to Jan. 6 and at least one of Trump’s co-conspirators and how the thinking around that case presents a troubling trend for things to come.

It revolves around attorney-in-the-process-of-being-disbarred John Eastman, who—in addition to serving as the key legal architect behind the fake elector plot—was also the key legal witness in the trial challenging Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman’s eligibility to hold elected office.

Let’s dive in.