Trump Adds Two Former Prosecutors to Impeachment Defense Team

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) the president pro tempore of the Senate, who is presiding over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, swears in members of the Senate for the impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021. Senate Television via AP

Former President Donald Trump has added two former federal prosecutors to his impeachment defense team, according to one of the lawyers.

Greg Harris told the Associated Press that he and former acting U.S. Attorney Johnny Gasser were added to the team.

A call to the private practice the men co-founded wasn’t immediately returned, nor were emailed inquiries.

Harris was a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, specializing in the prosecution of white-collar crimes. His biography says he views the experience as one that helps him obtain the best results for the clients he now represents as a defense lawyer.

Gasser was part of the same office for years, taking over at one point as the acting head. He prosecuted thousands of criminal cases in his time in state and federal government. He left the government in 2007 to form the Law Office of Harris & Gasser with Harris.

Harris and Gasser join former prosecutor Deborah Barbier and lawyer Butch Bowers on the impeachment defense team. Bowers, who has been referred to as the “anchor” of the team, said this week that “you'll see our case when we present it, and I think the facts and the law will speak for themselves.”

North Carolina attorney Josh Howard also said this week he is part of the team.

Howard said in a court filing obtained by The Epoch Times said that he “has accepted a position on the defense team handling the pending impeachment trial of former President Trump before the United States Senate.”

Former President Donald Trump poses with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Jan. 28, 2021. Save America PAC

“As such, counsel is obliged to spend roughly then [sic] next month in Washington, D.C. focused entirely and exclusively on that matter of historical and Constitutional significance,” the filing stated.

The team doesn’t yet include anyone who helped in Trump’s defense last year. Trump was ultimately acquitted of charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

Trump was impeached a second time on Jan. 13 for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. He has argued a speech he gave that day was “totally appropriate.”

Senators were sworn in for the trial on Jan. 26. The trial is slated to start the week of Feb. 8. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will preside, as opposed to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, amid questions about the constitutionality of trying a president who is no longer in office.

Impeachment managers for the House of Representatives are being led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), member of the Judiciary and Oversight and Reform committees. The nine-person team includes Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.).

The trial is already expected to end with another acquittal for Trump. Forty-five Republican senators voted for a point of order declaring the trial unconstitutional, prompting acknowledgment from Democrats that there’s little likelihood 17 Republicans will be swayed to vote to convict.