Former President Trump did not make a final decision on his legal team, days before his impeachment trial began, his adviser Jason Miller said on Saturday after it was reported that he had lost two leading defense lawyers.
Why it matters: Trump’s second impeachment trial is due to begin on February 9. It is unclear who will take the lead now that South Carolina lawyers Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier have left the team. Several other lawyers are also no longer with the Trump legal team.
Details: North Carolina attorney Josh Howard, “who was reported to have joined the effort but was never publicly confirmed by Trump advisers, is also not on the team,” notes the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman.
- Former South Carolina federal prosecutors Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser, who were previously announced to defend Trump’s impeachment, will no longer be part of the legal team at the Senate trial by AP.
- “Trump wanted lawyers to argue that there was massive electoral fraud and that it was stolen from him, instead of focusing on proposed arguments about constitutionality,” he tweeted on CNN Kaitlan Collins, who first reported the news about Bowers and Barbier and also reported about Howard.
What they are saying: The decision to leave Bowers and Barbier was mutual, a Trump adviser told the media.
- Miller said in a statement Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already stepped down are “totally unconstitutional” and “so bad for our country”.
- “In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional,” he added. “We did a lot of work, but we haven’t made a final decision about our legal team, which will be made soon.”
Of importance: Trump was impeached before stepping down earlier this month for “inciting insurrection” over disturbances in the United States Capitol, becoming the only president in history to have been impeached twice.
Go deeper: Most Senate Republicans adhere to an attempt to reject Trump’s second impeachment trial
Editor’s note: this article has been updated with new details.