John Eastman’s speech at the Jan. 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., where he fired up Donald Trump supporters with claims of rigged voting machines and dead people voting, was a last-minute appearance aimed at filling time until the tardy president arrived on stage, Eastman told a California State Bar Court trial Monday.

Testifying at his disbarment trial, Eastman said he originally had no plans to speak at the event on the Ellipse, which featured Trump and a dozen conservatives whipping up a crowd of thousands in the hours before Congress was scheduled to confirm Joe Biden’s presidential victory. But Eastman said Trump campaign adviser Rudy Giuliani asked him to join him at the rally, in part, to keep the crowd occupied because the outgoing president was running late.