Former President Trump has not made a final decision on his legal team, just days after his indictment began, his adviser Jason Miller said on Saturday, after appearing to have lost two top defense attorneys.
Why does it matter: Trump’s second impeachment process is set to begin on February 9. It is unclear who will take over, now South Carolina lawyers Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier have left the team. It seems that several other lawyers are no longer part of the Trump legal team.
Details: North Carolina attorney Josh Howard, “who was reported to have joined the effort but was never publicly confirmed by Trump advisers, is also not part of the team,” the New York Times notes. Maggie Haberman.
- Former South Carolina federal prosecutors Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser, who were previously announced to defend Trump’s impeachment, will no longer be part of the legal team in the Senate trial, per AP.
- “Trump wanted lawyers to claim that there is mass electoral fraud and it was stolen from him rather than focus on the proposed arguments about constitutionality,” he posted on CNN Twitter Kaitlan Collins, who first reported the news about Bowers and Barbier and also about Howard.
What are they saying: The decision to leave Bowers and Barbier was reciprocal, a Trump adviser told reporters.
- Miller said a declaration Democrats’ efforts to prosecute a president who has already left office are “totally unconstitutional” and “so bad for our country.”
- “In fact, 45 senators have already voted unconstitutional,” he added. “We have done a lot of work, but we have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made soon.”
Note: Trump was indicted before leaving office earlier this month for “inciting insurrection” over riots in the US Chapter, becoming the only president in history to be twice indicted.
Go deeper: Most Republicans in the Senate have joined the call to reject Trump’s second removal process
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.