Former President Trump and his chief prosecutors have parted ways just over a week before his Senate hearing, two people familiar with the situation said on Saturday.
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, both lawyers in South Carolina, are no longer with Trump’s defense team. One of the people described the farewell as a ‘mutual decision’ that reflected a disagreement over the direction of the case. Both insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.
One said new additions to the legal team are expected to be announced in a day or two.
The upheaval spews fresh uncertainty into the composition and strategy of Trump’s defense team as he prepares to stand on a charge of inciting the uprising at the US Capitol on January 6. However, a total of five Republicans from the Senate this week voted in favor of an attempt to dismiss the trial before it even began, and it is unlikely that a conviction of the former president regardless of his defense team is clear.
One of the people also says that Greg Harris and Johnny Gasser, two former South Carolina federal prosecutors, are not with the team.
According to another person who is aware of the legal hires, Bowers and Barbier left the team because Trump wanted them to use a defense that relies on allegations of election fraud, and the lawyers are not willing to do that. The person was not authorized to speak in public about the situation and asked for anonymity.
Trump has struggled to find lawyers willing to defend him after becoming the first president in history to be charged twice. He will face charges in the week of February 8 of inciting his supporters to storm Congress before President Biden’s inaugural election is certified in an effort to halt the peaceful transition of power.
After numerous lawyers who had previously defended him refused to take up the case, Trump was introduced to Bowers by one of his closest allies in the Senate, sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina.
Bowers, a well-known figure in Republican legal circles, had years of experience representing elected officials and political candidates, including the then-government organization Mark Carolina of South Carolina, against a failed accusation that turned into an ethical inquiry.
Bowers and Barbier did not immediately return messages Saturday night.
Republicans and Trump aides have made it clear they intend to make a simple argument at trial: Trump’s trial is unconstitutional because he is no longer in office.
Although Republicans in Washington seemed eager to separate from Trump after the deadly events of January 6, they have since eased their criticism for not angering the former president’s loyal voter base.
CNN was the first to report the departure of the lawyers.
Associated Press author Meg Kinnard in Columbia, SC, contributed to this report.