February 1st U.S. media reports that former U.S. President Trump will usher in an impeachment trial against him by the Senate next week.
Although the Senate has given Trump time to form a defense team, U.S. media reports that Powers, the chief lawyer who was originally scheduled to defend Trump and four other members have collectively run away. Part ways with Trump.
The news of Powers’ team’s departure injected new uncertainty into the already unprecedented situation.
On the other hand, because the majority of Republicans question the constitutionality of the trial, Trump may also be difficult to be convicted in the Senate.
Impeachment trial is coming.
Trump’s defense lawyers ran away collectively!
Previously, it was reported that the Trump impeachment trial will start on February 9 at the earliest, and it is only eight days away from the trial.
However, Fox News and other American media reported on January 31 that all five lawyers have left Trump’s defense team.
The U.S. media reported earlier that the two main members of the defense team had left. South Carolina attorney Powers is no longer on the Trump debate team, according to sources quoted by Fox News.
Another South Carolina lawyer, Deborah Barbiya, has also withdrawn from the Trump legal team, another person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.
Fox News later confirmed that North Carolina lawyer Josh Howard, a new member of Powers’ assembled legal team, had also left.
Two other lawyers from South Carolina, Johnny Garther and Greg Harris, also left the team.
The legal team reportedly ran away collectively due to disagreements over defense tactics.
The team member wanted to focus on the legitimacy of impeachment, while Trump insisted on emphasizing the expression of election fraud.
The parting may have exceeded the expectations of Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican congressman.
It was he who announced a few days ago that Powers would serve as the “host” of the Trump legal team during the trial.
I think Trump will have a good legal team.” Graham said at that time.”
I think Powers will be the main force. I have known him for a long time. He is very reliable. And I think they will form a team.”
In addition, it is analyzed that with the collective departure of defense lawyers, it may be more difficult for Trump to find legal help in the second impeachment trial, and some lawyers who participated in his first trial also said that they would not participate in the trial again.
With the firm support of the Republican Party
Is it difficult for Trump to be convicted?
Despite the collective departure of the Trump defense team, it brought uncertainty to the next trial.
But at present, it seems that with the support of the Republican majority, it is almost difficult for Trump to be convicted.
It is reported that 100 senators from the U.S. Senate have been sworn in to form a jury on January 26 to officially take over the impeachment case. Convicting Trump requires at least two-thirds of senators to support him.
At present, the Democratic and Republican parties control 50 seats in the Senate. Democrats need the support of 17 Republicans to convict Trump.
Just last week, 45 of the 50 Republicans in the Senate voted to pass the procedural dismissal trial proposed by Republican Senator RandKy, who believes that the upcoming trial in the Senate is unconstitutional.
Many Senate Republicans argue that the trial against the president is unconstitutional now that Trump has left office.
It can also be seen that it may be difficult for the Senate to obtain enough votes to convict Trump.
In addition, according to White House officials and sources close to the president, Biden has told Senate Democratic leadership that he wants to shorten the trial period, and Biden wants Congress to give priority to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.
On January 13, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass an impeachment clause against Trump, accusing him of “sedition”.
With only one week left before Trump officially stepped down as President of the United States, he became the first president in American history to be impeached by the House twice.
In December 2019, Trump was impeached by the House for the first time, accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and Senate Republicans subsequently rejected the impeachment clause.
