The preliminary petition filed by former President Donald Trump’s defense team had one more name, in addition to the two widely publicized lawyers who led his Senate impeachment defense: Michael T. van der Veen.
Fox News confirmed that van der Veen will be among the Senate presentation team in the coming days, joining the previously announced members of Trump’s impeachment team, David Schoen and Bruce Castor.
Trump’s new group of lawyers comes after a team of former South Carolina Republican Party lawyer Butch Bowers left. This was because the former president asked them to defend the case by repeating the former president’s false allegations of widespread electoral fraud, a source told Fox News.
Van der Veen is the founder of the law firm van der Veen, O’Neill, Hartshorn and Levin of Philadelphia. According to NBC Philadelphia, Castor works for the van der Veen company and participated in Trump’s defense with his approval.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a protest demonstration against Joe Biden’s electoral college certification as president on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
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Now van der Veen has joined Trump’s defense and, in addition to helping with the opening briefing presented on Monday, will actively argue for Trump’s defense in the Senate floor. The Wall Street Journal reported that Schoen will lead the Trump team presentation on Tuesday on the question of whether Trump’s trial is constitutional before Castor and van der Veen take over.
Van der Veen, according to the profile on his website, is a member of the order in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is also a treasurer for the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association.
In the archive photo on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump climb the western wall of the United States Capitol in Washington. The attack on the U.S. Capitol by an angry mob of supporters of President Donald Trump shocked many Americans who thought that such a violent attack by their countrymen was not possible. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, Archive)
The newest addition to the will of the Trump team is an Ohio Wesleyan University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science who graduated in law from Quinnipiac University School of Law, according to his LinkedIn page. Van der Veen earned his master’s degree from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law, according to his LinkedIn.
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Van der Veen’s profile on his company’s website describes a handful of cases he has judged over the years. This includes “successful jury trials for those subject to police brutality;” “$ 31.5 million trial for a client who became paraplegic in a car accident;” “A $ 10 million deal per child hit by a trailer, also involving work with the U.S. Department of Immigration;” “Traveling around the United States to fight for children injured by defective toys and working to stop the flow of unsafe and defective products from China to the United States;” and “Withdrawal of a federal antitrust suit for a corporate client.”
In addition to van der Veen, lawyer Julieanne Bateman will be at the desk of Trump’s team lawyers, but she will not appear.