Trump loses lead attorney before Senate trial

The attorney leading former US President Donald Trump's upcoming Senate impeachment trial has left the latter's legal team, according to a media report.

An informed source and two attorneys close to the team confirmed to the Politico news outlet on Saturday that Butch Bowers, a South Carolina lawyer, "was reportedly set to play a major role" in the trial which is set to begin on February 8.

The source told Politico that another laywer Deborah Barbier was also no longer with the team.

The source added that the exits were a "mutual decision" and new names will be announced soon.

Also on Saturday night, a CNN reports said that a three other lawyers, Josh Howard, Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris, have left the team as well. According to the CNN report, the exits were due to disagreements over the defence strategy.

"The team members wanted to focus on the legality of the impeachment, while Trump insisted on pushing narratives of election fraud," the report said.