Kamala Harris, born in Oakland, California, is without a doubt a natural born United States citizen, despite the claims made by the Newsweek op-ed that sparked a new round of birther conspiracy theories. During a press conference, Trump called the lawyer who penned the op-ed, John Eastman, “brilliant.” The publication issued an apology for publishing the op-ed, but did not retract it.
So, who is John Eastman?
For one thing, he’s the chairman of the National Organization For Marriage, a virulent anti-LGBTQ organization who has voiced support for Uganda’s notorious push to imprison (and in some cases exterminate) LGBTQ people and those who “promote” homosexuality.
According to Right Wing Watch:
He cited as justification for the law President Mouseveni’s claims that “western groups” were trying to use the schools to recruit children into homosexuality. Eastman said that the law’s provision for lifetime in prison was only for “aggravated homosexuality,” which he defined as “homosexual acts” by someone with HIV/AIDS or “homosexual acts with minors.” In reality, the law’s definition of “aggravated homosexuality” also included serial offenders. As he noted, the law included prison terms for someone who “counsels” a person into homosexuality, a provision that seemingly did not bother Eastman. The law would even have imposed a prison term of up to seven years for attempting “to commit the offence of homosexuality.” Eastman denounced American opposition to the bill as “cultural imperialism.”
And:
In 2015, Eastman gave a speech at the Family Research Council defending Uganda’s notorious Anti-Homosexuality Act and saying he hoped the law — rejected by the country’s Supreme Court over a procedural issue — would come back “in short order.”
Eastman also wants to eliminate the 14th Amendment to the constitution, hence his “birther” claims against Harris. Again, from Right Wing Watch:
Eastman has also become one of the most visible advocates for eliminating the 14th Amendment’s protection of birthright citizenship. Actually, Eastman believes there’s no need to change the Constitution or law in order to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants, just a court decision to correct what he thinks is an erroneous interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
And:
Eastman has been at this for a long time. He testified before a House subcommittee in 2005 in favor of reconsidering birthright citizenship in the wake of 9/11, and he published a paper for the Heritage Foundation in 2006 urging Congress to assert its authority and make clear that children born to people who are not in the country legally are not considered citizens.
He’s also an enemy of women’s reproductive rights as well:
At a Federalist Society debate, Eastman referred to Roe v. Wade as one of the Supreme Court’s “grievous mistakes” — like its affirmation of the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality — to which he would not give deference. At a Federalist Society panel from 2014 on the ACA’s contraception mandate, he argued that there is basically no distinction between individuals and the corporate structure when it comes to freedom of conscience, a view adopted by the Court majority in Hobby Lobby, which has opened a door to corporations claiming exemptions from generally applicable laws based on the religious beliefs of company owners, such as complying with the requirement that insurance provided for employees include coverage for contraception.
It appears this was an attempt to not only attack the qualifications of a strong VP candidate, but also to protect fellow anti-LGBTQ bigot Mike Pence by one of his own. As a Federalist Society darling, it would not be surprising to find that John Eastman has had a hand in picking the last two Supreme Court nominees.