Donald Trump arrives at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on January 20.
Photographer: Saul Martinez / Bloomberg
Photographer: Saul Martinez / Bloomberg
The two lawyers Donald Trump hired at the last minute to defend him at his Senate impeachment trial on February 9, are no strangers to controversial cases, but are generally seen as direct snipers who will not push allegations of electoral fraud. of the former president.
David Schoen and Bruce Castor arrived on board on Sunday after a previous legal team headed by South Carolina attorney Butch Bowers left after just a week, supposedly on Trump’s insistence that they base their impeachment defense on arguments that the 2020 election was stolen.
But Schoen told the Washington Post on Sunday that he would not present arguments of fraud, and a former colleague said that he could not see Castor touching Trump’s “absurd” claims either.
“He’s smart and he knows it’s bullshit,” said David Keightly, who worked with Castor in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, attorney’s office.
David Schoen
Although Schoen has denied the claim that the election was stolen, he knows politically charged arguments. It is likely that Trump turned to Alabama’s solo practitioner based on his work last year on behalf of former President Roger Stone’s ally.
Representing Stone in his appeal for his conviction in November 2019 for tampering with witnesses and lying to Congress during the investigation into interference in the Russian elections, Schoen quickly adopted Trump’s claim that the case was part of a massive “witch hunt” ”Perpetrated by corrupt prosecutors.
Photographer: Joe Cavaretta / The South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
It is the kind of case that Trump may want to make against the House majority accusation that he incited the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, which left five dead. Schoen never found out whether his argument in favor of Stone was persuasive – Trump commuted his ally’s 40-month sentence in July and granted him full pardon in December.
Schoen did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment. Seth Ginsberg, Stone’s other lawyer in the appeal case, praised Schoen in an email on Monday, saying, “David is a smart, hard-working lawyer who I am sure will provide a solid representation for his client.”
Stone also praised his former lawyer. “David Schoen is one of the most brilliant lawyers I have ever met, because he understands the dynamics of law and politics and how they interact,” said the political agent.
On his website, Schoen says he is known for using “innovative and creative legal theories, previously unrecognized” to win victories in courts for more than three decades, in cases ranging from extortion and international organized crime to title violations and money laundering. money. He has defended clients in criminal cases, including murder and rape.
Bruce Castor
Longtime prosecutor specializing in murder cases, Castor, 59, is perhaps best known now for his role in a sexual assault case. In 2005, when he served as a district attorney in Montgomery County, just outside Philadelphia, Castor refused to sue Bill Cosby after Temple University employee Andrea Constand filed allegations that the comedian had drugged and assaulted her in his life. mansion. Castor said the evidence was “insufficient”.
Photographer: Matt Rourke / AP
The decision probably cost him dearly when he tried to regain the position of prosecutor in 2015, after a stint as a county commissioner. After Cosby was charged with assault, Castor was forced into an uncomfortable position as a defense witness. He testified that he had entered into a secret non-prosecution agreement with Cosby and that he believed Constand’s allegations would not withstand scrutiny at the trial. Cosby was convicted on three counts of assault and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison.
Although a Republican, Castor in 2016 became a senior deputy for then Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat. He then briefly served as attorney general of the interim state when Kane was forced to resign after being convicted of perjury. Castor, who did not respond to a request for comment, now works in a private practice for a law firm in Philadelphia.
“I don’t think Bruce is an ideologue,” said Keightly. “I think he is a good lawyer and will do a good job for Trump.”
Castor’s homeland in Montgomery County and other suburbs of Philadelphia were the focus of a series of Trump campaign lawsuits aimed at nullifying the state’s election results. These areas, which favored Democrats strongly, were primarily responsible for handing Pennsylvania over to President Joe Biden.
– With the help of Meghan Tribe