Trump Co-Defendant Trying Not to 'Deplete' Wife's Retirement on Legal Fees

One of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election case said he is trying to not deplete his wife's retirement fund by paying for his legal fees.

John Eastman, who served as a Trump lawyer, spoke last week about the ongoing election case in Fulton County. In August, a grand jury voted to indict Trump and 18 others over alleged attempts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results, charging the former president and every other co-defendant with violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Four of the 19 indicted have accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify.

While speaking with reporter Julie Kelly on the Happy Hour with Julie and Liz podcast, Eastman mentioned his legal defense fund in which he is raising money to pay his legal fees. Eastman said his fund has raised "less than a third of what we've already incurred and less than about a sixth or seventh of what we're likely to incur before we're done."

"I'm trying very hard not to completely deplete my wife's retirement fund," he said.

In August, Eastman surrendered to authorities in Fulton County and said he was not planning to take a plea deal.

"I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought. It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances," Eastman said in a statement released by the Burnham & Gorokhov law firm.

"My legal team and I will vigorously contest every count of the indictment in which I am named, and also every count in which others are named, for which my knowledge of the relevant facts, law, and constitutional provisions may prove helpful. I am confident that, when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated."

Trump said he did not plan to take a plea deal, saying, "We did nothing wrong. We don't ever take a plea deal. We don't take plea deals. It's a wiseguy question. You're just a wise guy. We don't take plea deals, because I did nothing wrong. It's called election interference."

On Monday morning, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tamar Hallerman shared a document filed by Eastman's attorneys requesting that the judge split "the remaining Fulton defendants into two groups so that defendants not named Trump can get their case resolved earlier in 2024."

Newsweek reached out to the Burnham & Gorokhov law firm via its website for further comment. Newsweek also reached out to the Claremont Institute where Eastman is a senior fellow, via email for comment.

Despite remarks from Eastman and Trump, some other defendants such as Jenna Ellis and Sydney Powell have already taken plea deals in the Georgia case.