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Dalton Sweat Publisher John Eastman—former President Donald Trump’s lawyer and one of the people indicted in the state of Georgia’s case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the 2020 election—was one of six speakers at the Oldham- Cummings VFW Post 6441 in Wimberley this past weekend.
The event was held with the intent of recognizing Constitution Day on Sept. 17. Due to the controversial and political nature of the speakers, the VFW received complaints from some in Wimberley for hosting the event.
To try and calm the controversy, VFW Post 6441 Commander Huey Sandifer asked the speakers to refrain from becoming political.
‘After reviewing all of the facts presented concerning the Constitution Day event at the VFW, I have decided to continue the event as planned,” Sandifer said in a statement released before the event. “Please understand that I will not allow this event to become political and will stop any speaker that tries to make it that way. I am looking forward to a highly educational event and celebration and hope to see all of you there.”
At the time of Eastman’s speech on Sunday, about 30 people were in the crowd.
Eastman, whose speech was titled 'The Left's Crossing of the Rubicon: The Criminalization of the 2020 Election Challenges,” largely spoke on his perspective of the U.S. Constitution. Despite Sandifer’s request to refrain from being political, he did discuss the 2020 election, making multiple claims that various governmental entities interfered with the process.
“So, I’m retained by the former president to try and develop a constitutional way to try and get these things at least investigated,” he said.
He made multiple references to the “local controversy” over his speech before eventually being asked a question about his role in the 2020 election.
“So, I felt with the controversy I wasn't supposed to talk about this, but now that I've gotten the question, I will give you both variables,” Eastman said. He took the opportunity to characterize the indictment as “The Left” criminalizing his opinions on the U.S. Constitution. Eastman applied this same perspective to his upcoming hearing with the California State Bar, which will determine whether he loses his license to practice as an attorney for allegedly breaking the law.
“We'll find out whether the California Bar believes that here in short order, or whether the Georgia juries in the Fulton County Superior Court do, but... when I’m talking about crossing the Rubicon, the notion that that can be criminal or a disbarrable offense because I've got a different view of the Constitution than others do. That's nonsense, and it's a crossing of the Rubicon in our political system.”
The question and answer session was then closed. Following the speech, Sandifer addressed the VFW’s intent in honoring the Constitution with the event. He stated that the committee for the event was bipartisan and that some Democrats were invited to be a part of it. He said he was surprised they were able to get “such notable names” to speak and addressed some of the controversy that came along with it.
“Everybody’s welcome to their own opinion,” Sandifer said. “If they say they have a concern, it is valid, and I’m not going to say anybody’s concerns are not valid.
“I think [the event] has been very educational,” he continued. “For me, it definitely has been very educational. I’ve learned a few things about the Constitution myself. There may have been some personal interjection towards the end there, but I think for the most part it has been, as I anticipated, very non-political, nonpartisan. It's just based on how the Constitution is operating now, and current data we all need to know about–not avoid it just because we don’t want to hear what it says.”
Prior to the event, the VFW issued press release statements clarifying their stance as “an apolitical service organization dedicated to supporting veterans and their families and the local community. The opinions presented by speakers at observance of the anniversary of the adoption of the United States Constitution are their own and are neither endorsed, supported nor condoned by VFW Post 6441.”
