Feb. 1 (UPI) — The office of former President Donald Trump has announced a new impeachment defense team after several of its key members left a day prior.
In a statement on Sunday, Trump’s office announced trial lawyers David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor, Jr., would represent the 45th president during his upcoming second Senate impeachment trial.
The announcement came after CNN first reported that South Carolina lawyers Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier and several others had left his legal defense with a little over a week before the trial is set to begin.
The statement said that Schoen has previously worked with Trump and other advisers on the upcoming trial and that both he and Castor agree that the impeachment is unconstitutional.
“It is an honor to represent the 45th President, Donald J. Trump, and the United States Constitution,” Schoen said.
“I consider it a privilege to represent the 45th President,” Castor added. “The strength of our Constitution is about to be tested like never before in our history. It is strong and resilient. A document written for the ages, and it will triumph over partisanship yet again, and always.”
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for a record second time on Jan. 13 in a 232-197 vote charging him with inciting an insurrection a week earlier when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to stop the certification of President Joe Biden‘s election win.
His impeachment trial in the Senate is scheduled to start Feb. 9.
The Democrats require at least 17 Republicans to cross the aisle and vote to impeach Trump for their effort to be successful.
However, only five Republicans joined the Democrats last week to reject a motion to declare the trial unconstitutional, suggesting the GOP may be able to dismiss the article of impeachment against the former president.
“Dem. efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional & so bad for our country,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller tweeted after news broke that Bowers and Barbier had parted from the president’s legal team. “In fact, 45 Senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional.”
