To quote Dan Rather, “this story’s moving faster than a hummingbird’s wings.” A hummingbird on meth, swimming in a caffeine bath, to be precise. A few hours ago, Donald Trump was formally indicted. Then one hour after that, two of his lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley left his employ. Since then everybody’s been trying to figure out why precisely they did so. CNBC:
In a joint statement, Trusty and Rowley wrote: “This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation.”
“It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated in his battle against the Biden Administration’s partisan weaponization of the American justice system,” the attorneys said.
“Now that the case has been filed in Miami, this is a logical moment for us to step aside and let others carry the cases through to completion,” they wrote. “We have no plans to hold media appearances that address our withdrawals or any other confidential communications we’ve had with the President or his legal team.
That seems to be pretty clear. They’re going off the grid. And here’s news to anybody looking to jump right into the limelight of history. Donald Trump says he’s hiring. New York Times:
“For purposes of fighting the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time, now moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later,” Mr. Trump wrote in the post. “I want to thank Jim Trusty and John Rowley for their work, but they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and “sick” group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before. We will be announcing additional lawyers in the coming days.”
I’m sure you will, Donald. I’m sure there are dozens of lawyers lining up in the streets just begging for a chance to work for you.
The departures of Mr. Trusty and Mr. Rowley came a month after the resignation of a third lawyer on Mr. Trump’s team, Timothy Parlatore. Days after Mr. Parlatore stepped back from representing Mr. Trump, he went on CNN to complain about how another lawyer close to Mr. Trump, Boris Epshteyn, had created conflict inside the legal team.
On Thursday night, within two hours of the legal team being briefed on the indictment, Mr. Trusty was one of the faces on cable news defending Mr. Trump, appearing on CNN to denounce the case against him.
Mr. Trusty and Mr. Rowley were two of the three lawyers who attended a meeting with Justice Department officials, including the special counsel Jack Smith, three days before the indictment.
Two people familiar with the matter said that Mr. Trusty and Mr. Rowley had repeatedly complained about working with Mr. Epshteyn. One of these people, with direct knowledge of events, said that was part of the reason for the departures. That person said Mr. Trusty and Mr. Rowley are still on good terms with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Blanche, who is already representing Mr. Trump in the case against him in a Manhattan state court, represents both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epshteyn. […]
One lawyer who turned down Trump as a client was David O. Markus, who most recently succeeded in defending former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum against allegations he lied to the FBI and funneled campaign money to personal accounts. He also represented Hillary Clinton in Trump’s failed lawsuit against her. Reached on Friday, Markus declined to comment.
Trump’s team has also talked to Benedict P. Kuehne, who is well known in Miami-Dade County for representing people charged in state and federal courts on corruption cases. In 2014, he secured the acquittal of a Miami-area mayor accused by federal officials of taking a cash kickback in the bathroom of a sports bar. Kuehne on Friday declined to comment.
The central theme running through all of these news stories is that nobody can work with Boris Epshteyn. Even Trump “joked that Epshteyn would tell him everything was “great” even as he was being hauled off in handcuffs, according to the Washington Post.
It’s unclear at this time whether Todd Blanche, who is now running the show, is co-counsel with Epshteyn, or if Epshteyn is his client in the documents case. This is getting wild, but what else could it be, in the beginning of the end of Donald Trump?
Just watched Jack Smith’s press conference. Short. Sweet. Succinct. Straight as an arrow to the Maga crowd’s heart. Jack is my new hero. Lawyers everywhere should be clapping, as Jack has brought RESPECT back to the courthouse. A true believer!!!! Refreshing, given the parade of fascist liars, with law degrees, breaking laws over the years. Evidently, Jack read that slogan over the Supreme Court building, and intends to prove the idea is not yet dead. You go Jack!!! You are the wind beneath the country’s wings. Man…we can use some fresh air!
Agree completely.
He’s wonderful, isn’t he?
‘…an attorney will be provided…’
I wonder if that is going to be the case (can a Public Defender refuse to take a case??)