It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to work as a lawyer for Donald Trump at an unprecedented time like today when the threat of federal conviction or jail time is real. His legal defense had never been more critical nor had he had the intensity he had acquired after leaving the White House. An eclectic group of lawyers now represents the former US president, caught up in a maze of criminal matters: the 2020 election, the withholding of top-secret documents and a wide range of civil lawsuits.
Being a lawyer for Trump has always come with risks. Not only because many have accused him of not paying them for all of his services, but because they may end up becoming victims. One of his former lawyers, Michael Cohen, went to jail for financial crimes derived from paying the silence to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, who had a relationship with the Republican politician. “It’s like working for a mob boss,” she repeats. «He Gives an order without giving the order. He never leaves fingerprints on anything ».
Cohen’s collaboration with the US Justice has provided key material to criminally charge Trump in several cases. The former president has always used his lawyers not as legal advisers, but rather as cover for crimes, taking advantage of the confidentiality of their clients to which these professionals are obliged. Attorney Evan Corcoran signed an affidavit certifying that there was no more classified material at Mar-a-Lago, but surveillance camera footage obtained by federal prosecutors showed the politician’s staff moving file boxes to another location. .
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Corcoran has been exposed to potential obstruction of justice charges and in less than a year has gone from being part of Trump’s defense to being a witness for the prosecution. Rudy Giuliani, outside counsel for the former president and a member of the so-called Quack legal team, appeared before prosecutors last week in an eight-hour session. Lawyers from the same company, Sidney Powell and Emily Newman, also testified, who made coercive calls to state officials to annul the election results. And they are summoned to testify Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro for the plot of the false delegates in the seven states that the Republican lost in 2020.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump in two very serious federal cases, has made these appearances through cooperative agreements that allow the named lawyers to become prosecution witnesses in exchange for the information they provide not being used. against him.
None of the lawyers talk about the reasons for their resignation but some say that it is like working for a “mafia boss”
Lawyer John Eastman, the mastermind behind the 2020 election impersonation scheme, is also being investigated, and Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department subordinate whom Trump considered promoting to attorney general to declare the election void, has testified. Another important collaborator who has appeared is Mark Meadows, former chief of staff of the former president and who is suspected that he could be ratting him out.
As if that were not enough, a kind of internal civil war between different factions of Trump’s legal team threatens to jeopardize its effectiveness at a crucial legal moment for the politician. The confrontation came to light last month with the resignation of the main lawyer, Tim Parlatore, after months of tensions and mistrust, especially with the most prominent adviser to Trump, Boris Epshteyn. And his resignation was not the last. None talk about the reasons for his departure but one of them, Jim Trusty, complained about the “game of thrones” that consumed the group.
hostilities in the team
The oversight of the team’s work and the restriction of direct access to Trump that Ephsteyn appears to exercise has led to hostilities and withholding of information between them, but efforts to oust him have been unsuccessful. The tension grew to such an extent that the lawyers came to agree to a collective resignation agreement if Parlatore was fired from the group. He, like Corcoran, has testified before the grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and Ephsteyn has done the same before District Attorney Smith.
At the rate that Trump is “burning” lawyers, it is not surprising that rumors spread that the Republican candidate has difficulties finding new legal advisers. His lawyers are now in the paradoxical situation of needing other ‘colleagues’ to defend themselves from the legal mess their former boss has led them into. It is not clear how much the final bill for these professionals will be, although part of the bill for court battles has been covered by the Republican National Committee and by the political action committee ‘Save America’ itself.
The former president exploits his legal problems through a profitable fundraising operation that dupes hordes of supporters with his modest income. And lawyers, out of work, have to squeeze their own pockets to pay for their legal defense.
