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The addition of Deborah Barbier, a lawyer renowned for preying on high profile and controversial clients, is the second South Carolina lawyer to join the group. Last week, Trump announced that Butch Bowers, a senior political lawyer who has represented numerous Republican elected officials, including former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, would head his legal team.
The entire South Carolina legal team has surprised some lawyers, even those in Palmetto State, but it highlights the outsized influence of one of Trump’s staunchest allies, Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. of the state, who recommended Bowers to Trump. It also highlights the challenges Trump faced in building a legal team, as his previous lawyers have strayed far from him.
“He certainly couldn’t do better than Debbie. She’s an incredibly knowledgeable, knowledgeable and experienced criminal lawyer who is used to dealing with high-profile cases with controversial clients. He could never do better than Debbie,” said E. Paul Gibson, vice chairman of the state committee, who confirmed the email.
Barbier spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor in South Carolina before eventually opening his own criminal defense business. Barbier has represented several high profile clients, including a Republican consultant involved in a lobbying case and a friend of Dylann Roof, who was convicted in the 2015 shooting of nine people at the historic African Methodist Episcopal Church Emanuel in Charleston. .
The appointment comes as Trump struggles to develop his legal defense. In particular, loyalist Rudy Giuliani has been unable to represent Trump since he spoke on January 6, provoking the pro-Trump mob before storming the U.S. Capitol. Others who worked on Trump’s previous impeachment team refused to work on the second team.
Major law firms have also turned down the former president due to stigma about the insurgency and fear of losing clients, several lawyers told CNN.
“Big companies have too many customers who would say, ‘We’re going to take our business away from you.’ I don’t think Butch Bowers or Debbie Barbier have that concern, ”said Robert Foster, a partner of Nelson Mullins in Colombia, where Bowers was a former partner.
Trump’s allies recently contacted Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris, two prominent criminal defense lawyers in Colombia, people familiar with the talks said. Gasser, former acting US attorney for South Carolina, and Harris, former federal prosecutor, worked closely with Barbier on the defense side.
Gasser and Harris declined to comment on CNN.
Their possible additions would give a significant boost to the courtroom trial aspect of the impeachment process, but Trump allies say they still need a competent lawyer on constitutional matters.
Trump’s aides declined to comment on the ongoing training of the legal team on Tuesday.
Another looming question is whether Trump will pay the lawyers. Three lawyers who spoke to CNN said it was not clear whether Trump was seeking to retain lawyers on a pro bono basis and not pay them fees or hourly fees. All three lawyers said they refused to join the defense team, at least in part because of the problem.
Graham referred questions about the payment to Trump on Tuesday.
“You’ll have to ask them that. I am sure they are paid.
Foster said the legal community was wondering who else might join the impeachment defense. When news broke late Monday afternoon about Barbier’s date, he said, “Our first thought was, ‘What is South Carolina? “
Foster said the response to the email announcing the hiring of Barbier was unsurprisingly mixed.
“They overwhelmingly congratulated her on her stellar reputation. They were damning in that regard, they were divided on a lot of other issues,” Foster said. “Just like anything else with Trump, you’re going to have 51% of the people on one side and 49% on the other.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled convicted killer Dylann Roof’s first name.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
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