Washington – Less than two weeks before his second impeachment trial, former President Donald Trump separated from two key members of his legal team. South Carolina Lawyer Butch Bowers, who was supposed to be the lead attorney, and Deborah Barbier are no longer part of his team, said Trump spokesman Jason Miller on Saturday night.
“Democrats’ efforts to remove a president who has already stepped down are totally unconstitutional and very bad for our country. In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We did a lot of work, but we didn’t make a final decision on our legal team, which will be formed soon, “said Miller.
A Trump adviser told CBS News that the decision was mutual. CBS News contacted Bowers and Barbier for comment.
CNN, which first released the news, also said that three other lawyers left the legal team.
Trump’s second impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on February 9. The House charged Trump on January 13 on charges of “inciting insurrection”. A week earlier, Trump had encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” to prevent Congress from counting votes from the Electoral College, the final step in asserting President Biden’s victory. A crowd of his supporters invaded the United States Capitol, causing lawmakers to flee and delaying the count by almost six hours. Five people died in the confusion.
Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was a public figure in the former president’s fruitless battle to overturn the election results, said he would not be part of Trump’s legal impeachment team because he was at the rally. “Due to the fact that I can be a witness, legal ethics rules would prohibit me from representing the president as a lawyer in the impeachment trial,” Giuliani told CBS News on January 18.
Trump’s top lawyers in his first impeachment trial, including Trump’s longtime attorney Jay Sekulow and former White House lawyer Pat Cipollone, are not defending him this time. Cipollone, in particular, was one of the White House officials that a group of Republican senators summoned after the attack to convince them to stay until Trump stepped down, an aide to Senator Mike Lee said on Jan. 7.
When asked who would represent Trump, Miller said the team would likely make an announcement “in the next few days”.
Senator Lindsey Graham announced last week that Bowers, a powerful Columbia lawyer with an impressive record of defending Republican politicians, would be the “main anchor” on Trump’s defense team. Miller confirmed that Bowers would join the team in a tweet on January 21.
Bowers represented former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford when the legislature considered impeaching him after he admitted lying to advisers about the Appalachian trail when he was actually with his lover in Argentina. Sanford ended up being censored.
Bowers also represented Trump’s ally, Nikki Haley, when she faced ethical charges of illegal lobbying while still in the South Carolina legislature. Haley was acquitted in that investigation.
Bowers is a reputable member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association, according to their directories. Bowers previously told the South Carolina Post and Courier that he hopes to “represent the former president”.
Barbier, who runs a small business in Columbia, joined the legal team earlier this week, according to the South Carolina Post-Courier. In perhaps his most visible case, Barbier defended Joey Meeks, a friend of sniper Emanuel AME Dylann Roof. Meeks, who pleaded guilty to telling others not to share with authorities that Roof was behind the massacre, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to the Post-Courier.
Barbier also defended a powerful South Carolina political agent accused in 2017 of conspiracy and illegal lobbying at the state house, the Post-Courier reported. This case was finally dropped.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.