Today’s blacklisted American: Former Trump lawyer, already disbarred in California because he took Trump’s case, now blackballed by his banks
What many banks are now doing to conservatives.
They’re coming for you next: John Eastman — a former Trump lawyer who was fired from a professorship, was banned from speaking at conferences and colleges, is being prosecuted by Fanni Willis in Georgia, and was then disbarred in California, all because he simply made a legal arguement in favor of Trump — has now been blackballed by his banks, USAA and Bank of America.
Bank of America alerted Eastman in September of 2023 that it would be closing his accounts, a letter obtained by the Daily Caller shows. Shortly thereafter, USAA notified Eastman in November that his two bank accounts with the company would be closed, a separate letter shows.
“And then two months later, we get a similar letter from USAA saying that they’ve decided that they’re going to close your account and they did like three weeks later,” Eastman told the Daily Caller. “And so that was where all of our automatic payments were coming out of, all our automatic deposits. So it was a real pain to shift everything. We had to get a new bank account opened and shift everything over.”
It is important to emphasize that Eastman has done nothing wrong. All he did was accept the job as Trump’s lawyer and make reasonable legal arguments about what Trump should do in connection with the numerous credible allegiations of vote tampering in the 2020 election. For that “crime,” he has lost his law license and has become blacklisted nationwide. Now these banks are blacklisting him, simply because he did what all lawyers are supposed to do, take the case of his client and defend that client to the best of his ability.
Note also that the banks would not give any credible reason why they closed the accounts, though it appears the closures were not for financial reasons. For example, in the case of Bank of America, Eastman had had his accounts there for forty years. Whether they did it because the banks wanted to blackball him on their own, or were forced to because federal regulators were applying pressure for them to do it, remains unknown. We do know the Biden administration has been applying pressure to financial institutions to blackball businesses and organizations it doesn’t like.
We also know that Bank of America had previously shut down the bank accounts of the Christian charitable non-profit for no clear reason other than politics. Similarly, Chase Bank has done it numerous times in the past few years (see these blacklist stories here, here, and here). So has Minnesota Bank & Trust, Wells Fargo, and Mastercard.
In all these stories, it is a conservative person or organization that has been blacklisted. These large banks are apparently working hand-in-glove with Democrats to destroy any political opposition. What happened here to Eastman is simply another example, demonstrating once again the totalitarian nature of the left and the Democratic Party. It will brook no dissent or opposition, and has strong support nationwide for this tyrantical attitude from its many supporters.
To the left, freedom and free speech only applies to them. All others must be silenced.
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Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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What many banks are now doing to conservatives.
They’re coming for you next: John Eastman — a former Trump lawyer who was fired from a professorship, was banned from speaking at conferences and colleges, is being prosecuted by Fanni Willis in Georgia, and was then disbarred in California, all because he simply made a legal arguement in favor of Trump — has now been blackballed by his banks, USAA and Bank of America.
Bank of America alerted Eastman in September of 2023 that it would be closing his accounts, a letter obtained by the Daily Caller shows. Shortly thereafter, USAA notified Eastman in November that his two bank accounts with the company would be closed, a separate letter shows.
“And then two months later, we get a similar letter from USAA saying that they’ve decided that they’re going to close your account and they did like three weeks later,” Eastman told the Daily Caller. “And so that was where all of our automatic payments were coming out of, all our automatic deposits. So it was a real pain to shift everything. We had to get a new bank account opened and shift everything over.”
It is important to emphasize that Eastman has done nothing wrong. All he did was accept the job as Trump’s lawyer and make reasonable legal arguments about what Trump should do in connection with the numerous credible allegiations of vote tampering in the 2020 election. For that “crime,” he has lost his law license and has become blacklisted nationwide. Now these banks are blacklisting him, simply because he did what all lawyers are supposed to do, take the case of his client and defend that client to the best of his ability.
Note also that the banks would not give any credible reason why they closed the accounts, though it appears the closures were not for financial reasons. For example, in the case of Bank of America, Eastman had had his accounts there for forty years. Whether they did it because the banks wanted to blackball him on their own, or were forced to because federal regulators were applying pressure for them to do it, remains unknown. We do know the Biden administration has been applying pressure to financial institutions to blackball businesses and organizations it doesn’t like.
We also know that Bank of America had previously shut down the bank accounts of the Christian charitable non-profit for no clear reason other than politics. Similarly, Chase Bank has done it numerous times in the past few years (see these blacklist stories here, here, and here). So has Minnesota Bank & Trust, Wells Fargo, and Mastercard.
In all these stories, it is a conservative person or organization that has been blacklisted. These large banks are apparently working hand-in-glove with Democrats to destroy any political opposition. What happened here to Eastman is simply another example, demonstrating once again the totalitarian nature of the left and the Democratic Party. It will brook no dissent or opposition, and has strong support nationwide for this tyrantical attitude from its many supporters.
To the left, freedom and free speech only applies to them. All others must be silenced.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
All these banks that drop conservatives for fear of “reputational harm” or the like. I’d love to know what banks served Epstein, or any of the numerous other big leftist names that are equally problematic. I’m sure Hillary has no problems banking anywhere she please. How about the various members of “the squad”. An enterprising reporter should be in the face of those banks PR flaks asking them why “reputational harm” goes only one way.
BofA has been woke for many years now. I wish all patriots would drop it as quick and hard as they did Bud Light.
USAA?!?! That’s the bank/insurance company founded by military for the military (commissioned officers only until recently).
This concerns me much — Have insurance for life, home, and cars bundled with them, plus a money-market account!
Maybe it is time that the bank be defunded by their customers.
What goes around comes around.
USAA can’t seem to utter a sentence without mentioning their patriotism. I know because I was about to go there on the recommendation of a fellow veteran. I will tell him that his recommendations look like they need to be adjusted for current reality!
These banks – and the government that is pressuring them – are the textbook examples of how one treats others when one no longer sees the world as Left vs. Right …
… but as the Righteous Normal vs. the Evil Other, with no respect for the rights of the latter.
These banks, they need to have a ‘liquidity problem,’ all-the-way.
And what are our elected Republican “leaders” saying / doing about this, and is anyone standing up for Mr. Eastman? Or it it the usual
crickets, and they are “not sure” if this sort of harassment rises to the level that they should be worrying about it? (It’s OK in Canada and in Communist China, after all, so why not in this country?)
Profiles in Cowardice
According to this post in the Daily Mail —
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13320631/north-carolina-high-school-student-suspended-saying-illegal-alien.htmlhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13320631/north-carolina-high-school-student-suspended-saying-illegal-alien.html
— a high school student in North Carolina was suspended for using the term “illegal alien” in one of his classes. Given our culture today, this is hardly surprising, but what was even more disheartening was the “support” that he was given by Steve Jarvis, his representative in the North Carolina State Senate. Quoting from this article:
“State Senator Steve Jarvis, representing Davidson County, has reached out to the school
district’s superintendent, urging officials to look for the best outcome.
However, Jarvis refrained from taking a stance on the issue, and explained that he needed
to understand all perspectives involved.
‘I do not see that that would be an offensive statement, just in getting clarification,’ he said.
‘But there again, I don’t know. I don’t know the situation of this particular incident.'”
So let’s review. In a high school in Mr. Javis’ district, a student cannot use the term ‘illegal alien’ in class without fear of getting suspended. And all that this weak-kneed, cowardly politician can say is that he needs to understand all perspectives? Following his example, we could have avoided having to fight World War II if we had just paid more attention to the “perspectives” of Hitler and the Japanese warlords and not made any rash moral judgements.
Mark Milley needed to “understand white rage” Does Mr. Eastman retain law licenses in other jurisdictions? Most professionals have their licenses in other states, by just applying, if they met the requirements in the “home” state.
I terminated my credit card account w/ BOA a couple of years ago, after they handed over Jan 6-related customer info to the FBI w/o a warrant.
Merrill Lynch is a wholly-owned subsidiary w/ BOA. I’ve closed my half-million dollar brokerage account with them.
I had a couple of discussions w/ my account manager before closing the account. He couldn’t answer any of my questions. BOA apparently isn’t even making the effort to provide talking points to their people about them handing over client banking info to the government based on a mere request. They just do it, and [deleted] the customer.
Third generation USAA patron here. IMHO, the quality of their services has been declining for decades. They contract with disappointing third parties for many of their services. USAA banking services range from par to subpar. I have USAA home and car insurance bundled. The car insurance is probably among the best in the market but home owners insurance is nothing special. I am not sure what USAA can claim to do well, aside from maybe car insurance.
Evil Incarnate: I have deleted your cursing, and approved your comment, this time. Next time I will simply delete it and suspend you for a week.
My rules are clearly stated above the comment box. No obscenities. And adding two asterisks but making sure the word is obvious doesn’t cut it.
I ask again: Why does everyone today wish to behave like a barbarian? Can’t we at least try to emulate civilized people?
About the only thing I can say about the mega-banks getting rid of “conservative” customers is that anyone who actually cares about the future of the country should NOT be one of their customers.
My best and current choice is a local credit union, which is very responsive to its customers. It is small, so that even just a few depositors leaving can have a significant effect, particularly if they make their views known. We (independent depositors, all acting similarly) have altered some of their policy changes, simply by making our views loudly known to the head of the union, who lives in our small town. He’s a mealy-mouthed twit, but he still managed to pull his head out of his fourth point of contact and rescind the changes before he lost customers.
The deposits are still insured up to some limit ($250,000?) by the NCUA so there is not much of a risk of losing your money should your local credit union’s loans all go bad.
In the 70s when I started college I joined BoA and quickly had issues so I moved to a local bank. USAA I am presently using for insurance and credit cards but with this I will end it at the end of my insurance period and close my credit cards since I have nothing on them. Banks and any business do not need to be playing politics.
Huh. Bank of Anti-America.
I had similar issues with BofA a decade after JG, and like Blackwing1, I moved to a credit union, which has kept me happy for almost four decades.
I like credit unions as well. Make no mistake however, at the end of the day a credit union is required to keep its account, at a Bank.
(Ask your credit union what Bank they are affiliated with.)
After having my own problems with Bank of America personally, they have been At the forefront in the Anti 2A activities of Gun Grabber Groups by debanking gun and sports fishing shops, and holding on to their funds for Months till forced to remit them. I walked away from both.
From Google AI Answers:
In 2022, USAA reported a net loss of $1.3 billion, its first since 1923, and a revenue of $36 billion, a 3% decline from the previous year. The company blamed inflation, weak markets, and declining investment returns on higher home and auto repair costs.
_______
Note USAA last year joined Bank America in debanking their customers for political beliefs.
Is this their customers walking away from. Tyrants?
David Eastman
As to Epstein per Google Answers AI:
——
After he was convicted, and despite the bank’s knowledge of his chronic and criminal behavior, Epstein became a client at Deutsche Bank. And then, after he became a client, Epstein tripped multiple red flags during his five-year relationship with the bank.Jan 4, 2024
.americanbanker.com
A look into Jeffrey Epstein’s impact on the banking industry | American Banker
Blackwing1: You are right about local credit unions, but it is important that you find one that is still small and responsive to its membership. By way of contrast, Vystar Credit Union, a large regional financial institution with 13.5 billion in assets and over 900,000 members in northeast Floirda and SE Georgia* has gotten so large** — and so woke — over the years that it is exceedingly difficult to have any effective input into its policies and practices.
Vystar, in fact, has gotten so big and its organization so convoluted that it is now virtually impossible to have *any* say about such areas as their corporate sponsorship of local BPS / NPR stations and other progressive causes. Should you triumph over their all but impenetrable phone menu, the person who might in theory be responsible never seems to be there, and phone calls are not returned. If you are not on board with what they are doing, they simply don’t want to hear about it. Indeed, their whole system seems designed expressly to forestall contact with *any* executives / decision makers, but they do have a nice website that they encourage you to visit. Just don’t bother them in person.
*https://assets.ctfassets.net/kw2oi7dtt7lh/4AHYMuq4khvmVAnxAoeWVU/8fa613546043e730ddbcaf8d1e24c3b2/01.10.24_VyStar_Fact_Sheet_web.pdf
**My father, a World War II vet and a civilian federal employee, was one of the first members of the credit union (then the Jax Navy Federal CU), and the story — possibly true — goes that back in 1952 all of its paperwork was stored in a shoe box, lol. Over the years, the organization grew and grew, and, in fairness, its exemplary, going the next mile member service certainly contributed to that. All these years later, it is very sad to have watched the erosion of this ethic and the falling away from first principles, but what can you do?
Related: California regulates in the interests of oppression and radical political agenda.
“The solution to all problems in Socialist like states and countries in the world is more and more mandates and more and more taxation and regulation, until it all falls apart or people become so enraged that they take real action that is. ”
https://www.sigma3ioc.com/post/regulation-caused-the-problem-so-there-must-be-more-regulation
The house voted to defend Ukraine‘s border with $60 billion? (But refuses to defend the US border) Most of the money will wind up in local bank accounts as slush money for politicians and the industrial complex.
This means Black rock, who controls most of the 401(k)s and retirement funds in this country, can forestall going bankrupt because of their investments in Ukraine which they no longer have control over. As long as the war continues, they don’t have to pay the piper. The crash and collapse of the US system can be put off for a little longer as others have the opportunity to vote themselves money right out of the treasury.
Max:
As long as America remains the reserve / fiat currency of the world these kinds of manipulations can and will continue.
And I do not see that changing any time soon.
There are those country’s that would like to accomplish exactly that, but they IMO are going nowhere.
A reserve fiat currency is reliant on 2 things, economic mass and confidence.
And this government and the radical Leftists and the RINO’s are doing their best to erase the confidence component of that equation.
There in real terms is no other alternative than America.
@Cotour, finally someone who gets it. “economic mass” is key. That’s why gold is not a viable reserve: There’s not enough of it.
People don’t realize how many dollars are “out there.” It’s a very, very large number. Nothing else comes close.
markedup2:
You cannot forget the importance of confidence.
China has mass, but NO ONE has confidence in them.
And where is confidence fostered and secured?
In an Objective, rational and due process law and justice system.
So, what other country has the mass? And what other country has the confidence?
There IMO is only one answer.
And then there is something like…….BITCOIN: https://youtu.be/XoxIMxFuR5g?si=NFLOWNEjYcEbJK3T
And even BITCOIN is dependent on what / who? China? Russia? Sweden? (Sarcasm :)
No, the answer is still America.
America and its sanction and the confidence that comes along with its mass and Objective law, justice and due process system.
Well, Rudy and Mark Meadows were just indicted in Arizona for the same things.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/24/arizona-election-indictments-giuliani-meadows-trump-00154241
Yes, there are limits to what lawyers can legally do.
Time for another angry post. Have at it.
Have used USAA as my primary bank and car insurer for 30+ years. The day after I heard about this, I moved 80% of the money in my USAA accounts elsewhere. The rest may or may not go, as well, after we see what happens at the annual members meeting.
Real Clear did a piece on some of the broader issues last year https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/08/23/usaas_disregard_for_memberss_concerns_is_a_mark_of_failed_leadership_974788.html
T.J. I strongly recommend my readers use the 1792 Exchange database in choosing what banks or any company to use. It allows you to avoid other banks that have a poor record on freedom of speech.
We recently abandoned Capital One, for many reasons, including its poor record on these subjects, and switched to UFB because of its good interest rates as well as its good ranking on 1992.
I understand that Florida and Tennessee have passed laws to prevent banks from cancelling accounts of someone because of that person’s political or religious views or affilations. Two states down, 48 to go.