Donald Trump’s Impeachment Lawyers Reportedly Quit Because They Refuse To Argue ‘Big Lie’ Of A Stolen Election
Former President Donald Trump has lost a number of key members of his impeachment team, with reports indicating that the lawyers refused to go along with his request that they argue his unfounded claim that the election had been stolen from him through massive fraud.
As CNN reported, five of the impeachment defense attorneys left with just over a week remaining until the trial is set to start, with legal briefs due next week. The report noted that Trump had struggled to find lawyers willing to present his case and now is without any legal representation because he refuses to let go of the “election fraud charade.”
“Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, who were expected to be two of the lead attorneys, are no longer on the team. A source familiar with the changes said it was a mutual decision for both to leave the legal team. As the lead attorney, Bowers assembled the team,” the report noted, adding that North Carolina attorney Josh Howard also quit shortly after joining the team. South Carolina lawyers Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris had left his team as well.
The report added that Trump wanted the attorneys to argue that there had been massive, nationwide fraud that caused him to lose the race, instead of focusing on the more technical argument that it was not constitutional to convict a president who had left office. The source familiar with the departures told CNN that the now-former president was insistent.
“Trump was not receptive to the discussions about how they should proceed in that regard,” the outlet noted.
The reports led to more criticism of Trump, who had been under fire for his insistence that the win had been stolen from him and continued to repeat the claims even after a group of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol earlier in the month. Trump had repeated the claims at a rally and implored the group to march to the Capitol, telling them that he would be with them as they did. Instead, Trump returned to the White House where he allegedly watched in excitement as the group surrounded the building and broke inside, delaying the certification of Joe Biden’s election win.
Trump has lost 3 attorneys (so far) who wouldn't argue the Big Lie.
womp womp. https://t.co/P0Tk0tcptZ
— Amy Siskind ???? (@Amy_Siskind) January 31, 2021
It was not clear how Trump would proceed with his impeachment defense.
A number of Republicans have indicated that they could be open to convicting him though have not said for certain how they would vote. But many others have protested against it, arguing that the trial would be unconstitutional.
