President Trump’s new lawyer for his expected impeachment trial is not a household name. Senator Lindsey Graham confirmed to reporters on Thursday that South Carolina attorney Butch Bowers will join Trump’s legal team as the “anchor tenant”.
So, who is Butch Bowers?
Bowers, a native of South Carolina and a graduate of Tulane University School of Law, is no stranger to defending politicians involved in ethical scandals. Although, as would be the case for almost anyone, representing a former president in a Senate impeachment trial for inciting insurrection is an entirely new level.
Butch Bowers, whose name is Karl Smith Bowers Jr., is perhaps best known for representing then-South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford in 2009. The Republican majority legislature considered the Republican Governor’s impeachment when he admitted to lying to advisers about climbing the Appalachian trail, but actually was with his lover in Argentina. Sanford ended up being censored.
Mary Ann Chastain / AP
Bowers also represented former Trump administration official and then South Carolina governor Nikki Haley in 2012 when she faced charges of illegal lobbying ethics while still in the South Carolina legislature. Haley was acquitted in that investigation.
He also represented a South Carolina sheriff, Kenney Boone, who pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and embezzlement in December.
Bowers is a reputable member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association, according to their directories. Bowers told the South Carolina Post and Courier that he hopes to “represent the former president”.
Graham spoke well of the lawyer, who is from his state, when he spoke to reporters on Thursday night.
“He is involved in very complex litigation, he represented the state of South Carolina, you know, the federal court in many matters. He’s a lawyer and a lawyer and that’s where I met him, ”said Graham.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer announced on Friday night that the The Senate trial will begin the week of February 8.
Bowers did not respond to CBS News’s request for comment.