Less than two weeks before his second impeachment trial, former President Trump said goodbye to two key members of his legal team. South Carolina lawyer Butch Bowers, who was expected to be the lead attorney, and Deborah Barbier is no longer part of his team, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Saturday night.
“The Democrats’ attempts to overthrow a president who has already left are totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country. In fact, 45 senators have already voted it unconstitutional. We’ve done a lot of work, but have yet to do so. no final decision has been made in our legal team, which will be assembled soon, ”said Miller.
A Trump adviser told CBS News the decision was mutual. CBS News has reached out to Bowers and Barbier for comment.
CNN, which first reported the news, has also said three other lawyers have left the legal team.
Mr. Trump’s second impeachment trial will begin on February 9. The House charged Mr Trump on Jan. 13 on charges of “inciting insurgency.” A week earlier, Mr. Trump has encouraged his supporters to “fight hard” to prevent Congress from counting electoral college votes, the latest step in confirming President Joe Biden’s victory. A gang of his supporters then stormed the Capitol and sent lawmakers to flight, delaying the count for nearly six hours. Five people died in the battle.
Mr. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who was a public figure in the former president’s fruitless struggle to reverse the election results, said he would not be part of Mr. Trump’s legal team for attending the meeting. used to be. “Due to the fact that I am a witness, the rules of legal ethics would prohibit me from representing the president as counsel in the impeachment trial,” Giuliani told CBS News Jan. 18.
Mr. Trump’s top lawyers from his first impeachment trial, including longtime Mr. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow and former White House attorney Pat Cipollone, are not defending him this time. Notably, Cipollone was one of the White House officials who called on a group of Republican senators in the wake of the attack to persuade them to stay on until Mr. Trump left office, an assistant to Senator Mike Lee said on Jan. 7. .
When asked who would represent Mr. Trump, Miller said the team will likely make an announcement “in the coming days.”
Senator Lindsey Graham announced last week that Bowers, a great Columbia attorney with an impressive track record in defending Republican politicians, would be the “leading anchor” on Mr. Trump’s defense team. Miller confirmed that Bowers would join the team in a tweet on Jan. 21.
Bowers represented former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford when lawmakers considered impeaching him after admitting to lying to aides about walking the Appalachian path when he was actually with his mistress in Argentina. Sanford was eventually censored instead.
Bowers also represented Trump ally Nikki Haley when she faced ethical allegations of illegal lobbying while still in the South Carolina legislature. Haley got permission for that investigation.
Bowers is a member in good standing in both the South Carolina Bar and the District of Columbia Bar, according to their address books. Bowers previously told the South Carolina Post and Courier that he looks forward to “representing the former president.”
Earlier this week, Barbier joined the legal team, which runs a small business in Columbia, according to the South Carolina Post-Courier. In perhaps her most controversial case, Barbier defended Joey Meeks, a friend of the Emanuel AME shooter 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 charged with conspiracy and illegal lobbying at the state house in 2017, the Post-Courier reported. That case was eventually dropped.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.