Bowers – a respected lawyer from Columbia, South Carolina, who previously worked at President George W. Bush’s Justice Department – has been talking to Trump in recent days, according to two people familiar with the matter. Bowers was connected to Trump by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is also helping to add new lawyers to the team.
Charlie Condon, a former South Carolina attorney general who now works in a private practice in Charleston, was approached about joining the legal team, said two people familiar with the matter. In a brief statement to CNN on Monday night, Condon wrote, “I am not representing former President Trump. Thank you.”
A spokesman for the former president declined to comment on any additions to Trump’s legal team.
But, just two weeks from the start of the trial, Trump is still struggling to find other lawyers to join his team, people familiar with the matter said. Some law firms have raised questions about whether they will be paid and other layers have expressed reluctance to join the deadly US Capitol insurrection on January 6, people said.
The contours of Trump’s Senate trial are starting to take shape as the ceremonial elements begin, with the oldest Democrat in the Senate expected to preside over the trial and Democrats still weighing whether to chase witnesses during procedures that may occupy a part of February.
Asked if he thinks the Trump defense team will want to call witnesses, Graham, a close ally of Trump, said he did not know, adding, “I can’t imagine who you would call” and noting that the House had no one to testify in its impeachment process.
The South Carolina Republican argued for the rejection of the trial based on a “lack of constitutional jurisdiction”.
Graham said he spoke to Trump on Sunday while the former president played golf in Florida.
Asked about Trump’s mindset and preparations for his second impeachment trial, Graham said, “Well, I think he would like to end this.” He said he “would not think” that Trump would return from Florida to the suit, again emphasizing the desire for a speedy trial.
The exact timing of the trial itself, which will begin in the week of February 8, is also unknown, but several impeachment managers said they don’t think it will last as long as the 21 days of Trump’s trial in 2020. The expectation is still, however, it will take up much of February and end at the end of the month, if not earlier.
The second impeachment must also be different from the first in another fundamental aspect. Court President John Roberts will not preside, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Instead, Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Senate’s pro tempore president, is expected to preside, the sources said. The constitution says that the president of the court presides when the person to be tried is the current president of the United States, but senators preside in other cases, a source said.
Caroline Kelly and Jeremy Herb of CNN contributed to this report.