SANTA FE — John Eastman, a lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump in his failed bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, donated $500 last month to Mark Ronchetti’s campaign for governor.
The Sept. 27 donation, which was included in a mandatory campaign finance report filed Tuesday, is one of several individual contributions to Ronchetti’s campaign that have been singled out for criticism by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign.
Ronchetti campaign spokesman Ryan Sabel said Wednesday the donation was indicative of broad support for the GOP candidate, but he did not directly address Eastman’s role in the 2020 election fallout.
“Mark received an online donation from Mr. Eastman, along with 25,000 others,” Sabel said. “Among those 25,000, there are New Mexicans of all political persuasions. Republicans, Independents, and yes, even many Democrats.”
Eastman, a Santa Fe resident and registered New Mexico voter, has been a central figure in the U.S. House Select Committee’s investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Among other things, Eastman drafted a legal memo that sought to build a case for ex-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results when electoral votes were to be certified. Pence ultimately rebuffed the pressure and certified results that showed Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.
This summer, Eastman had his phone seized after leaving a Santa Fe restaurant by FBI agents who were apparently acting at the behest of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. He was also ordered to appear before a Georgia grand jury in August as part of an investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results.
Unlike some other Republican candidates, Ronchetti has said he does not believe Trump’s claims that he was the actual winner of the 2020 election.
