Donald Trump abruptly separated from the two top lawyers working on his defense for his impeachment trial in the Senate, said a source familiar with the situation, leaving the former US president’s legal strategy in disarray.
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two lawyers from South Carolina, are no longer on the Trump team, the source said, describing the move as a “mutual decision”.
Three other lawyers associated with the team, Josh Howard of North Carolina and Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris of South Carolina, also parted ways with Trump, another source said.
A third source said Trump had disagreements with Bowers over the strategy before the trial. The president also claims to have been the victim of mass electoral fraud in the November 3 elections won by Joe Biden.
This leaves Trump’s defense team in crisis as he prepares for a trial that begins on February 9 to consider an impeachment article approved by the House of Representatives that accuses him of inciting his supporters to invade the US Capitol on 6 January.
It was not clear who would represent the ex-president at the trial. His White House lawyers at their first impeachment trial last year, Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, are not expected to be part of the lawsuit.
“Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already stepped down are totally unconstitutional and very bad for our country,” said Jason Miller, Trump adviser.
“In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We did a lot of work, but we didn’t make a final decision about our legal team, which will be made soon, ”said Miller.
Forty-five Senate Republicans supported an unsuccessful effort last Tuesday to halt Trump’s impeachment trial in a demonstration of party unity that some have cited as a clear sign that he will not be convicted of inciting the Capitol insurrection .