Chapman Professor's Op-Ed Bashing Kamala Harris Sparks Backlash

SANTA ANA, CA —A former failed California Attorney General candidate, and current professor of law at Chapman University, is facing sharp criticism for a Newsweek editorial in which he questions Kamala Harris' eligibility to serve as vice president because she was born to immigrant parents.

Law professor John Eastman set off a firestorm of debate this week for his editorial that questions whether Harris has the right to run. Now Newsweek is facing backlash for running what critics describe as a thinly veiled reiteration of the racist birther movement that Donald Trump championed in a bid to delegitimize the nation's first Black president. Critics compared the column to the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was born in Kenya instead of Hawaii, and thus ineligible to be president.

On Friday, the president praised Eastman for raising questions about Harris. She was chosen this week as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate for the November election.

In Eastman's opinion article, he argues that constitutional law is not yet settled on whether being born in the United States automatically makes one a citizen. His argument centers around the 14th Amendment, which was passed in 1868 granting the rights of citizenship to people born in the United States. The Amendment made former slaves the rights of citizenship in the aftermath of the Civil War.

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

The courts have long held that the U.S born children of immigrants are legitimate United States citizens.

Newsweek elaborated that they "should have recognized the potential, even probability" that the piece could refuel the birther fire before publishing the op-ed, and that they "failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, distorted and weaponized" over social media.

Identified as an opinion piece, "Some Questions For Kamala Harris About Eligibility" questions her position as Senator. According to Newsweek, many readers demanded they make a retraction. Instead, the magazine opted to add a detailed preface to the article, explaining their position.

"The essay, by Eastman, was intended to explore a minority legal argument about the definition of who is a 'natural-born citizen' in the United States," Newsweek wrote on Friday. "But too many readers, the essay inevitably conveyed the ugly message that Senator Kamala Harris, a woman of color and the child of immigrants, was somehow not truly American."

Eastman describes the events that followed the publication of his Op-Ed Newsweek article as "an interesting couple of days."

Eastman's column raised eyebrows when it was published Wednesday, and has since erupted into a national debate.

Trump didn't dismiss the contention that Harris —who was born in Oakland — may not be eligible to serve as vice president, a fact that is easily disputed.

Trump replied, saying, "I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements," later adding, "I have no idea if that's right."

Eastman, a Republican, said Friday that he thinks it's ironic he has received so much criticism "for publishing a scholarly article on a subject I've been writing about for 20 years."

Eastman said the authors of the law had two requirements:

• that the person must be born on American soil;
• That the person be subject exclusively to U.S. law. To be president, one must be a natural-born citizen of the United States.

Harris was born in Oakland in 1964, but Eastman questions whether her Jamaican father and Indian mother were in the country on what would be considered a green card. Eastman wrote that he was unclear on Harris' parents' green card status and, thus, uncertain she has the right to serve as Vice President.

Eastman's theories, were swatted down in the opinion rebuttal essay by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, and colleague, also published by Newsweek.

That opinion piece bears the simple title, "Yes, Kamala Harris Is Eligible To Be Vice President."

In the piece, Volokh states:

"Harris was born in the U.S., but her parents (who had come to the U.S. to study) weren't U.S. citizens at the time. Does "natural-born citizen" include Harris, and others like her?
It does." He goes on to explain why that is, answering questions posed by Eastman.

The Associated Press added that the foundation of Eastman's article is false: Harris was born to Indian and Jamaican immigrants on California soil, making her a natural born citizen and eligible for both the presidency and vice presidency.

In the aftermath of being viewed under a microscope of his colleagues, Eastman denied allegations that he was stooping to "birtherism" or that his opinion is openly racist and sexist.

"To say I only did this because she is Black and a woman is nonsense," Eastman said.

He also brushed aside criticism that his column was a case of sour grapes since he ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 2010 — a position that Harris ended up winning.

Eastman said he ran second in the Republican primary, losing to former Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley.

"So I never ran against Kamala Harris," Eastman said. "If I have sour grapes against anyone, it would be Steve Cooley," he added.

Eastman recalled participating in a debate with the Democratic candidates because he was the only Republican who agreed to go.

"I walked out of there saying she was the best of the Democratic candidates they had," Eastman said. "If that demonstrates I'm holding a grudge, then people are not looking very carefully."

The response by Eastman's column hasn't earned Eastman undue praise from his university.

"Chapman University respects the academic freedom of all its faculty," Jamie S. Ceman, Chapman's vice president of strategic marketing and communications, said. "The opinions expressed by faculty are their own, and we will never restrict their right to express it. However, they do not represent the opinions of the institution."

City News Service contributed to this report.