Former President Trump has not made any final decision on his legal team, days after his impeachment trial, his adviser Jason Miller said Saturday after it was revealed he had lost two top defense attorneys.
Why it’s important: Trump’s second trial for dismissal will begin on February 9th. It is unclear who will take the lead now that South Carolina attorneys Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier have left the team. Several other lawyers are reportedly no longer part of Trump’s legal team.
Details: North Carolina attorney Josh Howard, “who had been reported to have joined the effort, but was never publicly confirmed by Trump’s advisers, is also not part of the team,” he notes. the New York Times Maggie Haberman.
- South Carolina federal prosecutors Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser, who had previously been announced to defend Trump’s removal, will no longer be part of the legal team in the Senate trial, by AP.
- “Trump wanted lawyers to argue that there was massive election fraud and he was robbed instead of focusing on the proposed arguments about constitutionality,” he tweeted to CNN. Kaitlan Collins, who first reported on the news about Bowers and Barbier and also about Howard.
What they say: The decision to leave Bowers and Barbier was mutual, a Trump adviser told the media.
- Miller said a statement Democrats’ efforts to charge a president who has already left office are “totally unconstitutional” and “so bad for our country.”
- “In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional,” he added. “We’ve done a lot of work, but we haven’t 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” by the U.S. Capitol riots, becoming the only president in history to have been indicted twice.
In depth: Most Senate Republicans join the candidacy to dismiss Trump’s second indictment
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with new details everywhere.