[ad_1]
Donald Trump abruptly parted ways with the two main attorneys working on his defense for his impeachment in the Senate, said a source familiar with the situation, leaving the former US president’s legal strategy in disarray.
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two South Carolina attorneys, are no longer on Trump’s team, the source said, describing the move as a “mutual decision.”
Three other attorneys associated with the team, Josh Howard of North Carolina and Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris of South Carolina, also parted ways with Trump, another source said.
A third source said Trump had differences with Bowers on strategy before the trial. The president still maintains that he was the victim of massive electoral fraud in the Nov. 3 election won by Joe Biden.
It leaves Trump’s defense team in confusion as he prepares for a trial that will begin on February 9 to consider an article of impeachment approved by the House of Representatives that accuses him of inciting his supporters to storm the United States Capitol on January 6th.
It was unclear who would now represent the former president at trial. His White House attorneys at his first impeachment last year, Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, are not expected to be part of the process.
“Efforts by Democrats to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and very bad for our country,” said Jason Miller, a Trump adviser.
“In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We have worked hard, but we have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly, ”Miller said.
Forty-five Senate Republicans backed a failed effort last Tuesday to stop Trump’s impeachment, in a show of party unity that some cited as a clear sign that he will not be convicted of inciting an uprising on Capitol Hill.
