John Eastman, who worked as a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, took the stand in Georgia on Wednesday, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on multiple instances. File Photo by Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE
Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A lawyer who worked for former President Donald Trump took the stand in Georgia on Wednesday, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on multiple instances.
John Eastman answered questions before the Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigating whether former Trump and his allies unlawfully interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
"We advised our client John Eastman to assert attorney client privilege and the constitutional right to remain silent where appropriate. Out of respect for grand jury secrecy we will not disclose the substance of the questions or testimony," reads a statement by Eastman's lawyers.
Eastman also invoked protections under attorney-client privilege.
The former law school professor is accused of helping craft Trump's White House legal strategy to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 Electoral College voting on Jan. 6, 2021.
Eastman and dozens of others with ties to Trump have also gone to court to stop their telephone calls from becoming part of the Jan. 6 investigation.
In June, he dropped his lawsuit to keep the House select committee from accessing his Verizon call logs.
Eastman, 62, is the latest high-profile figure interviewed by the special grand jury. The investigation into whether Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state's presidential election results began more than a year ago.
In a phone call, Trump allegedly told Raffensperger to "find" him the required votes to overturn the election.
Earlier this month, Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was named a target in the investigation and could face charges, according to his attorney.
After numerous attempts to delay, Giuliani testified in the Georgia courtroom for several hours about efforts to overturn the outcome of the election.
A Georgia judge ruled Monday that Gov. Brian Kemp must appear to testify in front of the special grand jury. Attorneys for Kemp had argued that as governor, he has immunities that allow him to skip testimony.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Monday that she has interviewed "about 60%" of witnesses from whom she's looking to hear in the probe.