Eastman Spins Wild Tales Of Jan. 6 As A Trap Sprung By Media And FBI

John Eastman is sure having trouble keeping his story straight.

See Also: Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Dana Bash  that US Covid-19 cases are headed in the "right direction," but the US should be careful not to prematurely declare victory.

A week ago, the ex-Trump legal adviser, whose legal memo laid out a path for Mike Pence to thwart the 2020 Electoral College certification, went to great lengths to downplay and minimize his memo.

See Also:  Press Secretary Psaki tells  Mary Alice Parks  about Pres. Biden's trip to Capitol Hill today

But Eastman takes a whole different tack in a secretly filmed discussion with undercover left-wing activists at a gala.

See Also: Rachel Maddow reviews the series of Donald Trump's embarrassing failures at creating his own internet properties in the wake of his excommunication from social media, and reports on the latest venture, replete with typical Trumpian gaffes but also set up as a vehicle for his supporters to give him money.

In video released last night, Eastman bemoaned that Pence was too much of an establishment Republican to follow through on rejecting the Electoral College certification.

See Also: President Biden's agenda

In new video released Wednesday, Eastman took on a more conspiratorial cast, wildly claiming that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a "setup."

 See Also: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki - Live Update

Who was behind the setup? Eastman claims it's the FBI and big media.

See Also:  Obama: 'I understand' why Americans want to know when COVID-19 mandates will end

In the latest video, Eastman cited a debunked right-wing conspiracy theory that an "antifa guy" had been paid thousands of dollars by CNN to break into the Capitol for footage of the siege. In reality, the FBI Director Chris Wray has said there is no evidence that antifa (a broad term for anti-fascism that isn't identified as a solid group) was involved in the Capitol attack, nor is there evidence that CNN or any other outlet paid anyone to ransack the Capitol.

See Also:  Pelosi on filibuster carveout: Voting rights is 'fundamental'

Eastman also baselessly claimed that the feds had infiltrated the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, two right-wing extremist groups with members who've been arrested in connection to the attack, to spark the violence that day and lay a "trap."

See Also:  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tells CNN's Jake Tapper that former Clinton and Obama economic official Larry Summers is wrong on his warnings about rising inflation.

"The Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys had not just wallflowers sitting on the side of the organization, but people instigating within the association, FBI plants," Eastman told the activists. "It was a setup. And unfortunately our guys walked into the trap."

See Also:  CNN's Brian Stelter wants the media to ditch and remains of objectivity and just portray all conservatives as threats America itself.

Eastman had joined Rudy Giuliani onstage at the pro-Trump rally in D.C. that preceded the storming of the Capitol.

See Also:  DeSantis reveals how Florida is trying to recruit cops from other states whose jobs are threatened by vaccine mandates

During his speech, Eastman peddled lies about the 2020 election being tainted by "fraud" before he directly called out Pence and demanded that the then-vice president have GOP-controlled state legislatures "look into" the election results (a key component of Eastman's plot detailed in his infamous memo to Trump).

See Also:  Here's the Story with Kyrsten Sinema

A mob of Trump's supporters later went on to storm the Capitol, some of them shouting "Hang Mike Pence!"

See Also:  CNN anchor defends calling Rand Paul an 'a--' for grilling Fauci on Wuhan lab funding following NIH admission

The undercover activists Eastman spoke to came from The Undercurrent. They had also filmed the lawyer bragging about the memo at the same event despite him publicly insisting that he thought the legal reasoning in the document was bunk.