President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, will not participate in the president’s defense at the Senate hearing for his second indictment, a person close to Trump said.
Mr. Trump met with Mr. Giuliani met, and the next day the president started telling people that Mr. Giuliani would not be part of the team. It is unclear who a defense attorney for Mr. Trump will be, as many attorneys have privately said they will not represent him.
Mr. Giuliani first said he was participating in the trial and a day later said he had no involvement.
He told ABC News on Sunday that he would not be part of the defense, noting that he was a potential witness, as he gave a speech on January 6 from Trump supporters storming the Capitol complex and it passed hours.
Another day earlier, Mr. Giuliani told ABC News that he would in fact be involved in defending the accusation, and the possibility that Mr. Trump would appear for trial, left open. The interview angered Trump advisers and was, according to the person close to the president, a bridge too far for the president, describing personal conversations on condition of anonymity.
While the president has a decades-long relationship with Mr. Giuliani blamed Trump’s advisers for the events surrounding both of the allegations the president faced.