January 24 According to the Associated Press on the 23rd, former U.S. President Trump asked Butch Powers, an election and ethics lawyer in South Carolina, for help and asked him to defend his impeachment case.
Butch Powers reportedly used to defending public officials in ethical cases and has rich experience in representing elected officials and political candidates.
However, he has never defended impeachment for a current or former president of the United States.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham recommended Powers to Trump, according to the report.
Trump adviser Jason Miller also said he believed that Powers “will do a good job defending Trump”.
Powers did not reply to the request for comment.
At present, Powers’ possible defense strategy is unclear, but many Republicans question whether “impeachment of the former president” is constitutional.
The report pointed out that for Trump, who has been impeached twice, the impeachment result may have a huge impact.
If convicted, Trump may be banned from holding public office again, thus shattering his hopes of running for President of the United States again in 2024.
After the riots of demonstrators breaking into the Capitol on January 6, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted on the 13th to pass the impeachment clause against Trump, accusing him of “sedition”, just one week before he left office as President of the United States.
Trump became the first president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives twice.
Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Schumer said on the 22nd that the prosecution and defense statements will begin the week of February 8.
According to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate must have at least two-thirds, or 67 senators, to convict Trump.
The U.S. House of Representatives first impeached Trump in December 2019, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
In January 2020, the Senate rejected both articles of impeachment after hearing.
