Outside lawyers are being sought for consultation by the White House on the prospect of a quick and last-minute impeachment of President Trump, said a source familiar with the matter.
The source said that at the moment lawyers advising the White House believe that there is not enough logistical time for Democrats to move the House’s impeachment articles into the hands of senators for a quick removal of the president before January 20. But the source said the president’s lawyers had begun to throw out the possibility of impeachment, as the likelihood that the vice president and the Cabinet would invoke the 25th Amendment seems remote.
The source added that the president’s lawyers were consulted on the language used in Trump’s video messages after the Capitol riots. During that process, White House lawyer Pat Cippolone and chief of staff Mark Meadows went to Trump to urge him to record the videos to save his presidency and hinder efforts to remove him from office.
The White House is in “crisis management” mode after the siege of the Capitol, the source said.
“Lawyers are involved,” said the source.
The meetings have been almost uninterrupted within the White House to discuss plans to end Trump’s presidency in the least chaotic manner possible, the source said.
“You can land the plane with 12 days left,” said the source, summarizing the goal of the other advisers and advisers around the president.