Trump shifts to two attorneys for his defense

Anyone who has tracked the career of Donald J. Trump would not be surprised that shortly after his five-person team resigned, he had hired a two-man defense arm for his impeachment trial.

His office announced the new pair are David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor Jr. With typical Trump superlatives, he said they will bring “national profiles and significant trial experience in high-profile cases to the effort.”

It’s reported that the collapse of his early impeachment legal group — a week before his Senate trial is to start — was prompted in part by money disagreements between the former president and his lead lawyer, according to Axios.

The news adds detail to the rift between Trump and Butch Bowers that prior news reports said was caused by a disagreement over defense strategy.

Axios cited unnamed sources who said they negotiated fees for the impending impeachment trial in “a series of tense phone calls.” Trump has raised more than $170 million from the public since Election Day that could be used for his legal defense.

One of Axios’ sources said Trump and Bowers negotiated fees for the trial that would pay Bowers $250,000 individually, but balked after being presented with a total price — including “more lawyers, researchers, and other legal fees” — of $3 million.

The two apparently negotiated down to $1 million.

The newly-hired pair are expected to take the lead when Trump’s impeachment trial begins on Feb. 9.

The impeachment article says, in part: President Trump’s conduct on Jan. 6 followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He is blamed for greatly endangering the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He is said to have threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power and imperiled a coequal branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Trump was impeached for the second time on Jan. 13. He was charged with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, which interrupted a joint session of Congress that was certifying the November election results. The insurrection left five people dead.

Trump is set to be the first president to face trial in the Senate once out of office.