According to Reuters on the 14th, in addition to private lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Trump may hire a former law professor as his lawyer to defend him in the impeachment trial, according to people familiar with the matter.
Once questioned the cheating of the election at the rally
On January 13th local time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Trump’s impeachment resolution, officially accusing him of “sedition”. Trump became the first president in American history to be impeached twice.
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump is currently considering hiring John Eastman, a former law professor at Chapman University in California, as his lawyer to defend him in the impeachment trial. It is reported that John Eastman appeared on stage with Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at a rally on January 6.
Sources said that Giuliani, 76, may become the lead lawyer defending Trump in the impeachment trial.
However, Giuliani did not make a statement on this.
According to the report, Eastman neither confirms nor denies whether he will become Trump’s defense lawyer.
Asked if he would like it, Eastman said, “If the President of the United States asks me to consider helping him, of course I will.”
Eastman, 60, was the clerk of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Last month, he challenged the results of the U.S. election on behalf of Trump, but failed.
Until Wednesday, Eastman was a professor of law at Chapman University in California. At a rally on January 6, he claimed that there were “secret folders” for cheating in the election, and repeatedly made false statements.
Subsequently, Chapman University faculty and students called for Eastman’s dismissal. The president said in a statement on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached with Eastman, and Eastman will immediately retire from Chapman under the agreement.
And Eastman told Reuters that he didn’t think he had done anything wrong. He also doesn’t think Trump is guilty.
Trump may find it difficult to retain legal talents.
According to the report, it may be difficult to retain legal talents in Trump’s current situation.
Widespread condemnation of the violence in the Capitol and pressure from anti-Trump groups may prevent others from joining.
Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives in 2019, accusing him of pressure on the President of Ukraine to investigate his rival Biden, but the Republican-led Senate acquitted him in February 2020.
Pat Sipollone, a White House lawyer who led defense during Trump’s first impeachment, is not expected to participate in the second impeachment trial, a person familiar with the matter said. Sipollon will leave after Biden takes office on January 20.
Another private attorney for Trump, Jay Sekulo, was involved in the first impeachment trial, but he is not expected to participate in the defense.
John Liu, a conservative legal scholar, also worked paperwork for Justice Thomas, who worked in the Department of Justice under George W. Bush. He said he didn’t think Trump would want him to be a defense lawyer.
Liu said he thought Trump’s actions could be impeached, but he believed that sedition should not be used as a justification for impeachment, and the Senate should not convict Trump.
