Trump not pleased with legal team, advisers say
WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump denounced his lawyers’ performance in the Senate impeachment trial during private conversations with allies, but his advisers said he has no plans to shake up his legal team.
The advisers, who described their discussions with Trump on condition of anonymity, said one of the reasons the former president doesn’t see a need to make a change is that he remains confident of an acquittal.
Trump voiced particularly searing criticism of attorney Bruce Castor, whose meandering presentation drew the ire of some Republican senators.
Trump spoke more favorably of the presentation of attorney David Schoen, who sought to persuade senators that the trial is unconstitutional because the president has left office – an argument the majority of senators rejected.
Trump is accused of inciting the insurrection Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters seeking to overturn his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The riot left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.
Trump, who is watching the trial from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Florida, and speaking with allies by phone, said Castor appeared illprepared and constantly wandered off the main claim that the trial is unconstitutional.
Castor also complimented the presentation of the House impeachment managers – praising the opposition is always a no-no with Trump – and spent too much time praising senators and not enough defending Trump, the advisers said.
Trump often judges people by how they perform on television, and his lawyers did not always live up to expectations, aides said. Schoen, at the end of his appearance, got choked up.
Castor declined to discuss his relationship with Trump in detail, but did dispute news reports that the former president was “furious” about his nationally televised performance.
Asked if Trump expressed displeasure to him directly, Castor said: “Far from it.”
Allies of Trump urged him to shake up his legal team. Peter Navarro, a White House adviser on trade and manufacturing during the Trump administration, had actually called for dismissal of Castor and Schoen last week, questioning their qualifications.
After Tuesday’s presentation at the impeachment trial, Navarro tweeted: “Time for an affirmative defense of the charges against POTUS45. First we fire all the lawyers.”
As a legal matter, the Trump attorneys lost on Tuesday. The Senate voted, 56-44, that the trial is constitutional and should proceed. That majority included six Republicans, some of whom criticized the defense attorneys, who joined 50 Democrats and independents.
“The House managers made a compelling, cogent case, and the president’s team did not,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in comments echoed by Trump and some of his allies. Cassidy voted with the majority.
Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of a Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. That means 17 Republicans would have to vote against Trump, and that seems unlikely.