Trump had a hard time finding legal help for his second impeachment, with some of the lawyers who worked at his first trial saying they wouldn’t do the same out there.
The hiring of Bowers was first announced by Trump’s ally and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. A longtime Republican lawyer, Bowers represented former South Carolina governors. Mark Sanford and Nikki Haley, and had experience in electoral law.
The media in South Carolina also named lawyers Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser as part of Trump’s impeachment team, although Trump’s advisers have never officially confirmed who would represent the former president.
In a statement, Trump spokesman Jason Miller did not address the uncertainty surrounding the legal team, but instead protested the impeachment itself, noting that the vast majority of Senate Republicans voted to condemn a ex-president is an unconstitutional act – a conclusion with which scholars disagree.
“Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already stepped down are totally unconstitutional and very bad for our country,” said Miller. “In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We did a lot of work, but did not make a final decision about our legal team, which will be made soon. ”
Trump was impeached by the House for helping to understand the Capitol insurrection on January 6. However, it would take two-thirds of the Senate to convict him, a limit that seems unlikely to be reached.
“I’m really shocked by this,” said Dick Harpootlian, a prominent South Carolina lawyer and a former Democratic official in the state who has defended several cases against Bowers and knows him well. “These are honorable ethical lawyers that I have dealt with for many years.”
“To expect something to come out without controversy and chaos would be to expect too much from this guy,” Harpootlian said of Trump.