Former President Donald J. Trump abruptly parted ways with the senior attorney handling his impeachment defense, a person familiar with the situation mentioned on Saturday, just over a week before the Senate trial began.
Butch Bowers, a South Carolina attorney whose hiring was announced last week, will no longer be part of Mr. Trump’s legal team, said the person familiar with the situation. Deborah Barbier, a South Carolina criminal defense attorney who is also believed to have joined, will also not join.
The decision was “mutual,” the person said, adding that Mr. Trump and Mr. Bowers did not have chemistry, a trait the former president generally values in his relationships. Mr Trump prefers attorneys who like to appear on TV to say he never did anything wrong; Mr Bowers has been noticeably absent from the news media since his appointment was announced.
Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, said the former president and his staff had “not made a final decision about our legal team.”
The departures of Mr Bowers and Mrs Barbier were previously reported by CNN. A third attorney who has been reported to join the defense, Josh Howard of North Carolina, is also no longer part of the team, said a second person familiar with the situation. Two other South Carolina lawyers, Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris, will also no longer be involved, said one of the people familiar with the situation.
A third person familiar with the situation said Mr Trump had urged lawyers to focus on his unsubstantiated claim that the election was stolen from him. A person close to Mr Trump denied that it was, but admitted there was disagreement over strategy. However, Mr. Trump has insisted that the case be “easy” and told advisors he could argue about it himself and save the money on lawyers. (Helpers insist that he not seriously think about it.)
Mr Trump will file a response to the House indictment by Tuesday.
The question of who will represent Mr Trump in his Senate trial has pissed him and his advisors ever since it became clear that he would be the first American president to face two indictments.
This month, House Democrats, along with ten Republicans, accused Trump of “inciting insurrection” for his role in sparking a violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6 as Congress convened to see President Biden win in November to confirm election.
Mr. Bowers is the only attorney whom Mr. Trump’s aides have confirmed would defend the former president. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Mr. Trump, is believed to have helped set up Mr. Bowers, who worked to build a broader team.
During various investigations during his tenure, Mr. Trump struggled to find or keep lawyers to defend him.
Mr Trump’s attorneys from his impeachment proceedings last year are not expected to be involved this time around. These include Jay Sekulow, former White House attorney Pat A. Cipollone, and his deputy, Pat Philbin, as well as another attorney who worked in the West Wing, Eric Herschmann.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, who acted as Mr Trump’s personal attorney during the Special Envoy’s investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign collaborated with Russian officials, has made no secret of trying to defend Mr Trump in the second impeachment trial.
But Mr Giuliani is a potential witness for speaking at a Trump supporter rally on Jan. 6, hours before hundreds marched to the Capitol and got excited. Almost all of Mr Trump’s advisors accuse Mr Giuliani of encouraging Mr Trump’s desire to find ways to reverse the election results and question their legitimacy for the recent impeachment.
They also partially blame him for the first impeachment of Mr Trump, which was due to the former president’s interest in pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Biden family. Mr Giuliani repeatedly encouraged Mr Trump to believe unfounded allegations regarding Mr Biden’s son Hunter and his business in Ukraine.
The second impeachment proceedings are due to begin on February 9th. This week, 45 Republican Senators voted in favor of a move put forward by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul that ruled the trial unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is no longer in office. The fact that all but five Republican senators voted to question the constitutionality of the process indicated a possible acquittal for Mr Trump.
Democrats pushed back, finding that Mr Trump was indicted by the House while he was still in office.
Still, the issue of constitutionality is likely to be an integral part of Mr Trump’s defense. And his advisors were delighted with Republicans’ support for the Paul measure, believing it was an indication that Mr Trump would be spared conviction.
The Senate needs a two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, to condemn Mr. Trump, which means 17 Republicans would have to cross the party lines to join the Democrats in declaring him guilty. An additional vote, which would require a simple majority, would be required to remove him from office. Still, most of his aides say they doubt he will run for office again.
