Donald Trump has abruptly said goodbye to the two leading lawyers working on his defense for his Senate impeachment lawsuit, a source familiar with the situation said, confusing the former US president’s legal strategy.
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two South Carolina attorneys, are no longer part of Trump’s team, the source said, describing the move as a “mutual decision.”
Three other lawyers on the team, Josh Howard of North Carolina and Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris of South Carolina, also broke up with Trump, another source said.
A third source said Trump had disagreements with Bowers over the strategy prior to the trial. The president still claims he was the victim of massive electoral fraud in the election won by Joe Biden on Nov. 3.
It leaves Trump’s defense team in an uproar as he prepares for a trial beginning February 9 to consider an impeachment article passed by the House of Representatives accusing him of inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6.
It was unclear who the former president would now represent at the trial. His White House lawyers in his first impeachment trial last year, Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, are not expected to participate in the proceedings.
“The Democrats’ efforts to overthrow a president who has already left are completely unconstitutional and so bad for our country,” said Jason Miller, a Trump adviser.
In fact, 45 senators have already voted it unconstitutional. We have done a lot of work, but have not yet made a final decision on our legal team, which will be taken soon, ”said Miller.
Forty-five Senate Republicans backed a failed attempt to stop Trump’s impeachment process on Tuesday, in a show of party unity that some cited as a clear sign that he will not be convicted of inciting uprising in the Capitol.