Legal Expert Explains Why Donald Trump’s Impeachment Lawyers Quit
News broke Saturday evening that former President Donald Trump parted ways with lawyers who were hired to defend him in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, legal analysts and former prosecutor Elie Honig explained the significance of this development.
Per Raw Story, speaking with New Day host Victor Blackwell, Honig noted that lawyers generally don’t quit on their clients unless they have a legitimate reason to do so.
Reporting suggests that Trump pressured his attorneys to build their case on his debunked claim that Democrats stole the presidential election, the former federal prosecutor said, claiming that it is likely Trump’s attorneys quit because they did not want to base their case on lies.
“When you see something like this, what it tells you there was a difference in terms of not necessarily just strategy, but if a defense lawyer believes he is be made to make an argument that is either a lie or dangerous or unethical, that’s where you see resignations like this.”
The attorneys had “every right” to offer their resignations, Honig continued, saying that he would have done the same in their situation. Honig said that he would have gladly made other arguments, for example challenge the notion that it is constitutional to impeach a former president, but stressed that he would not base his case on obvious falsehoods.
Nonetheless, Trump will most likely argue that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and claim that Democrat Joe Biden won thanks to widespread voter fraud, even though there is no evidence whatsoever that the presidential race was rife with irregularities.
According to Honig, the Senate doesn’t actually have to allow Trump to base his legal arguments on debunked claims and falsehoods.
“The Senate controls how this impeachment trial goes, they need to think hard about whether they want to countenance that sort of a lie as a defense,” Honig said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyK3bIjEv78&feature=emb_title
The trial will begin early next month, so Trump and his allies won’t have much time to prepare.
The former president has reportedly told aides and advisers that he would rather represent himself than waste money on expensive lawyers. Some of those close to Trump, like former White House strategist Steve Bannon, allegedly support the idea.
According to former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller, Trump has not made a final decision on his legal team yet.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives impeached Trump earlier this month, accusing him of inciting an insurrection against the U.S. government.
