Former President Trump split from his top impeachment lawyers just over a week before his Senate trial began, two people familiar with the situation said on Saturday.
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, both lawyers from South Carolina, are no longer on Trump’s defense team. One person described the separation as a “mutual decision” that reflected a difference of opinion about the direction of the case. Both insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.
One said that new additions to the legal team should be announced in a day or two.
The revolt injects new uncertainty into the composition and strategy of Trump’s defense team as he prepares to face the charge that he incited the US Capitol insurrection on January 6. However, all but five Senate Republicans voted in favor of this week. dismissing the trial before it even started, making clear the former president’s conviction is unlikely, regardless of his defense team.
Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser, two former South Carolina federal prosecutors, are also out of the team, one person said.
According to a different person with knowledge of the legal hires, Bowers and Barbier left the team because Trump wanted them to use a defense that was based on allegations of electoral fraud, and the lawyers were unwilling to do so. The person was not allowed to speak publicly about the situation and requested anonymity.
Trump has struggled to find lawyers willing to defend him after becoming the first president in history to suffer two impeachments. He is due to stand trial in the week of February 8 on charges of inciting his supporters to invade Congress before President Biden’s inaugural election is certified, in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transition of power.
After several lawyers who defended him earlier refused to take the case, Trump was introduced to Bowers by one of his closest Senate allies, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Bowers, a well-known figure in Republican legal circles, had years of experience representing elected officials and political candidates, including then-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, against a failed impeachment effort that turned into an ethics investigation.
Bowers and Barbier did not immediately return messages asking for comment on Saturday night.
Republicans and Trump advisers have made it clear that they intend to present a simple argument at the trial: Trump’s trial is unconstitutional because he is no longer the post.
Although Republicans in Washington seemed eager to part ways with Trump after the deadly events of January 6, they softened criticism, fearing to irritate the former president’s loyal constituency.
CNN was the first to report the lawyers’ departure.
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard, from Columbia, SC, contributed to this report.