Trump parts ways with five lawyers handling impeachment defence

WASHINGTON • Former US president Donald Trump has abruptly parted ways with five lawyers handling his impeachment defence, just over a week before the Senate trial is set to begin.

Those departures include his lead lawyer, Mr Butch Bowers, a person familiar with the situation said on Saturday. Four other lawyers who were reported to be joining the team, including Ms Deborah Barbier, a criminal defence lawyer in South Carolina, are also leaving, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

Mr Trump had pushed for his defence team to focus on his baseless claim that the election was stolen from him, one person familiar with the situation said.

A person close to Mr Trump disputed that that was the case, but acknowledged there were differences in opinion about the defence strategy. However, Mr Trump has insisted that the case is "simple" and has told advisers he could argue it himself.

The decision for Mr Bowers to leave was "mutual", another person familiar with the situation said, adding that Mr Trump and Mr Bowers had no chemistry. The lawyer has been noticeably absent in the news media since his hiring was announced.

Mr Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, said the former president and his aides had "not made a final decision on our legal team". Mr Bowers is the only lawyer whom Mr Trump's aides had confirmed would defend the former president.

The departures of Mr Bowers and Ms Barbier were previously reported by CNN.

A third lawyer, Mr Josh Howard of North Carolina is also no longer part of the team, another person familiar with the situation said. And two other lawyers from South Carolina, Mr Johnny Gasser and Mr Greg Harris, will no longer be involved as well, one of the people familiar with the situation said.

Mr Trump is due to file a response to the House charges by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors investigating the violent riot at the Capitol last month have announced their first conspiracy charges against the Proud Boys last Friday, accusing two members of the far-right nationalist group of working together to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers protecting Congress during the final certification of the presidential election.

In an indictment filed in federal court in Washington, prosecutors charged the two Proud Boys members, Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe, with 11 counts, including conspiracy, assaulting an officer and civil disorder.

Both Pezzola, a former boxer and Marine, and Pepe, an employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, were already facing lesser charges connected to the Capitol attack, which followed a Jan 6 rally in support of Mr Trump.

The case brought against Pezzola, 43, and Pepe, 31, describes a two-person conspiracy that lasted through the day of the rally when, the indictment notes, a large group of Proud Boys members travelled to Washington and gathered near the Capitol grounds.

A Proud Boys "organiser" led the group - with Pezzola and Pepe among them - in a series of chants, including "We love Trump", before moving on to the Capitol, the indictment said.

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western chauvinist" group that has a long history of bloody street fights with left-wing activists from a movement known as Antifa, have drawn the attention of investigators because they are one of the extremist outfits with a large presence on Capitol Hill during the assault.

The organisation, which has maintained links with both overt white supremacists and more mainstream Republicans, has been a vocal - and often violent - advocate for Mr Trump.

During one of the presidential debates, Mr Trump seemed to signal his support by telling its members to "stand back and stand by".

NYTIMES