Donald Trump's Entire Impeachment Legal Team Has Quit As Trial Looms

Donald Trump's impeachment defence attorneys have reportedly all quit, with the trial set to begin on 9 February.

The five-person team, led by South Carolina lawyer Butch Bowers, resigned over disagreements about how best to mount a defence, according to ABC.

Sources told the publication the team planned to dispute the constitutionality of impeaching a former president, but Trump wanted the team to argue that there was mass election fraud - a completely unfounded claim.

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Jason Miller, a spokesperson for Trump, told ABC that a final decision on the legal team was yet to be made.

He said: "The Democrats' efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country. In fact, 45 Senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional.

"We have done much work, but have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly."

Trump is the first president to be impeached twice.

The first time was in 2019, with Trump accused of coercing Ukraine into interfering with the 2020 presidential election. He was acquitted last February.

This time around, Trump is charged with inciting insurrection.

The charge relates to the riot at the Capitol on 6 January, in which five people died.

It is claimed Trump incited the attack both through continual claims the election had been 'stolen', and a speech immediately before the riot in which he told the crowds: "If you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore."

If found guilty, Trump could be barred from holding office. However, it looks like he will be acquitted once again.

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Last Tuesday (26 January), in a vote on Senator Rand Paul's objection that an impeachment trial would be unconstitutional against a president no longer in office, all but five of the 50 Republicans backed Trump.

Even if all Democrats vote to convict Trump, they'd need 17 Republican senators to join them, or Trump will be acquitted for a second time.

Senator John Boozman told reporters: "I can't see how you get 17. I think that that was a test vote."

According to Politico, Rand Paul said the vote showed the trial 'is dead on arrival'.

He added: "If you voted that it was unconstitutional, how in the world would you ever vote to convict somebody for this?

"This vote indicates it's over. The trial is all over."

Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey