Amid the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, MSNBC News’ Steve Benen is noting how critical it is to incorporate a viable defense team.
However, there is just one problem. “Common sense suggests this is precisely the time the Republican would use his resources to hire the best legal defense team money can buy, in preparation for a possible felony indictment. There is, however, an inescapable problem: Top-shelf attorneys don’t want to work for him.
Former president Donald Trump and close aides have spent the eight days since the FBI searched his Florida home rushing to assemble a team of respected defense lawyers. But the answer they keep hearing is “no.” The struggle to find expert legal advice puts Trump in a bind as he faces potential criminal exposure from a records dispute with the National Archives that escalated into a federal investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act and other statutes.
He added, “The article quoted one prominent Republican lawyer saying, simply, ‘Everyone is saying no.’” In addition to facing difficulties finding viable legal representation, The Post also described the former’s president’s current legal team as “embarrassing” and “surprisingly familiar.”
“As the Post summarized, a former American president is currently represented by a legal defense team that includes a Florida insurance lawyer who’s never had a federal case, a past general counsel for a parking-garage company, and a former host from a propagandistic cable outlet,” he wrote.