Legal team turns back, former President Trump loses power?

However, the two new members are said to come from small law firms and have views that are completely opposite to Mr. Trump's previous advisors. The current context shows a not-so-bright future for the former President right after leaving office.

Who will protect Trump?

Attorneys David Schoen and Bruce Castor are the two new hires to former President Donald Trump's legal team just days before his inauguration.impeachmentin the Senate. In fact, the pressing time is just a secondary issue, finding people willing to stand up and "argue" for Mr. Trump at this time is the important thing. Because it is not difficult to explain why all 5 veteran lawyers of the former President "turned their backs" at the most critical moment. The 5 names include Butch Bowers, Deborah Barbier, Josh Howard, Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris - experienced people who seem to have conflicting views with former President Trump.

According to some sources, while Mr. Trump still wants his lawyers to defend the view that there was massive election fraud and that the election was stolen, the lawyers do not share the same view. They believe that focusing only on the constitutionality of convicting a former President will be easier to win than Mr. Trump's original goal.

Former President Donald Trump before the Senate impeachment trial set to take place on February 9. Photo: AP

Up to this point, it is not known whether the two new lawyers who joined Trump's team, Schoen and Castor, accept this view of former President Trump or not, but both in the latest announcement agreed that the upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate is unconstitutional.

Mr. Schoen also emphasized in his statement that it was an honor to represent the 45th President and the Constitution of the United States. Expressing more enthusiasm, attorney Castor also affirmed that this was a privilege, and that the strength of the Constitution was undergoing unprecedented challenges in history. It should be noted that attorney Schoen is strong in both civil and criminal cases. Meanwhile, Mr. Castor, although not very famous, is also a well-known lawyer in Pennsylvania.

In a recent statement, former President Donald Trump’s spokesman Jason Miller did not mention the legal team’s personnel crisis. Instead, he emphasized that the majority of Republican members in the Senate agreed that impeaching a former President is unconstitutional. This could be a message signaling a “reversal” in Donald Trump’s stance in the upcoming impeachment trial!

Multiple wins?

Looking at the current situation, public opinion can see that former President Trump is in a weak position before the upcoming impeachment trial, when veteran lawyers turn their backs on him. This is not a pleasant feeling when on January 13, after the vote in the House of Representatives, with 232 votes in favor and 197 votes against, Mr. Trump became the first President in US history to be impeached twice. However, analyzing the possible scenarios in the impeachment trial in the Senate, observers say that Mr. Trump still has many "chances of winning"! Simply put, Mr. Trump can only be convicted if 2/3 of the senators support this effort. That means that in addition to the 50 Democratic senators with a fragile majority, there must be 17 more Republican senators voting in favor of impeaching Mr. Trump. However, in reality, even though they do not like him, the Republicans cannot completely "abandon" the former President.

Attorneys David Schoen and Bruce Castor - two new additions to former President Donald Trump's legal team. Photo: AP

That is why the press recently reported on a meeting between Mr. Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that took place in Palm Beach, Florida, at the end of January. Notably, the two discussed strategies to regain the majority in the House of Representatives for the Republicans in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. Mr. Trump also pledged to help the Republican Party achieve this goal. Despite pressure from some members of the Republican Party to abandon the influence of former President Trump, Mr. McCarthy seems to be focusing on factors that can help the Republicans regain the House of Representatives.

Observers commented that although many typical Republican members such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell haveturn away from Mr. Trump, 10 Republican members of the House of Representatives voted in favor of impeaching Mr. Trump, but the reality is that the Republicans still need the support and influence of the former President.

Therefore, key members of the Republican Party will have to play a "difficult role" when they have to both call for Mr. Trump's support, thereby raising funds for the party, but also not be too enthusiastic and close to avoid taking hard-line views, constantly pointing the spear and accusing the former President. Because McCarthy and his team are still having to use the fundraising website from the midterm elections next year 2022 with the domain name "Trump's Majority".

"Heating up" internal tensions

The most talked-about scenario right now is that Senate Republicans will vote to acquit Donald Trump, not on whether the former president is guilty, but on whether Trump should be impeached and convicted in this way. This is considered the best way for Republicans who initially condemned the violence but now do not want to lose Trump supporters by voting in favor of impeachment.

These internal conflicts are creating deep rifts within the Republican Party in the House and Senate, not to mention the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, anticipating the possibility of Mr. Trump being acquitted, which also means the goal of “removing the ability to become President” will not come true, the Democratic Party has had to prepare a number of backup plans. One can mention a resolution to censure Mr. Trump forincite rioton January 6, or use the provisions of the 14th Amendment to remove him from office in the future if he intends to run for re-election.

Democrats accuse former President Donald Trump of inciting the riot at Capitol Hill on January 6. Photo: Getty

The outcome of the Senate impeachment trial is still unknown, but this historic event is unwittingly raising one of the biggest challenges for new President Joe Biden. With his commitment to unite America to overcome the crisis, this impeachment is once again putting Mr. Biden in a difficult position at the beginning of his term.

That is to heal America, to quell partisan divisions. Although immediately after taking office, Mr. Biden tried to sign a series of executive orders to reverse the policies of his predecessor, while focusing on measures to gain support from both parties, such as measures to accelerate vaccine distribution, plans to reopen schools, and strengthen food security during the pandemic... However, the "divisive scars" that have been deeply ingrained in the heart of America will be difficult to heal with just a few decrees or short-term campaigns.

Some have even questioned the necessity of an impeachment trial against Trump, when the outcome is almost certain. If it does not take place, President Biden will also avoid the scenario of suddenly creating an opportunity for Trump to “go public” in a public way to stir up cracks and conflicts in American politics. This is certainly something that Biden does not want!