Former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy is set to join to work with President Donald Trump’s private legal team amid an impeachment inquiry pushed by the Democrat-led House.
“I am pleased to announce that former Congressman Trey Gowdy is joining our team as counsel to the president,” said Jay Sekulow, Trump’s attorney, in a statement Wednesday night.
“I had known Trey for years and worked with him when he served in Congress. His legal skills and his advocacy will serve the president well. Trey’s command of the law is well known, and his service on Capitol Hill will be a great asset as a member of our team.”
On Thursday afternoon, Trump said: “Trey Gowdy is a terrific guy. I think there’s a problem with he can’t start for another couple of months because of lobbying rules and regulations,” adding that it appears like Gowdy can’t start “until sometime after January.”
Gowdy, 55, had served as chairman of the House oversight committee from 2017.
Gowdy did not seek reelection in the 2018 midterms after having represented South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District for eight years and retired from Congress in January.
After leaving office, Gowdy joined the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Greenville, South Carolina. He also signed on as an on-air contributor for Fox News in January.
News of Gowdy’s appointment comes just after the White House indicated that it would not cooperate with House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry push.
A July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is the focus of an impeachment inquiry into Trump. The investigation was announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sept. 24; she alleged that Trump “seriously violated the Constitution.”
House Democrats have accused Trump of abusing his power by asking Zelensky to investigate the 2020 presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying that his request for Ukraine’s assistance to look into the Bidens was intended to investigate the alleged corruption. It was not to look for information on a political opponent.
Trump said Wednesday that he would consider cooperating on the conditions that the House formally votes to approve rules for the impeachment inquiry, and if such rules were “fair.”
