Ask Rudy
For some reason Trump has been unable to hire new lawyers to help him clear up this little misunderstanding.
Trump and his legal team spent the afternoon before his arraignment interviewing potential lawyers but the interviews did not result in any joining the team in time for Trump’s initial court appearance scheduled for 3pm ET on Tuesday after several attorneys declined to take him as a client.
Trump has also seemingly been unable to find a specialist national security lawyer, eligible to possess a security clearance, to help him navigate the Espionage Act charges.
The last-minute scramble to find a veteran trial lawyer was a familiar process for Trump, who has had difficulty hiring and keeping lawyers to defend him in the numerous federal and state criminal cases that have dogged him through his presidency and after he left the White House.
This is the downside to being a conspicuously bad person. People don’t want to deal with your shit, even for lots of money.
Among the Florida lawyers who turned down Trump was Howard Srebnick, who had discussed defending the former president at trial as early as last week in part due to the high fees involved, but ultimately declined the representation after conferring with his law partners, the person said.
Oh boy, high fees, but…um…oh the hell with it, it’s not worth the torture.
Part of the problem of recruiting new lawyers has been Trump’s reputation for being a notoriously difficult client who has a record of declining legal advice and seeking to have his lawyers act as attack dogs or political aides rather than attorneys bound by ethics rules, people close to the process said.
Along with his reputation for being a complete asshole, a reputation which is bolstered by the thousands of hours of video we’ve all seen of him being a complete asshole.
“Lots of money” assumes facts not in evidence. As well as the other things, Trump is infamous for not paying invoices when he doesn’t feel like it.
He could represent himself, considering that the judge is willimg to wear two hats in this case.
Piglet – I bet he’s offering cash in advance for this though – as in cash right now this very second.
It isn’t DJT’s reputation as a “difficult client,” though. That’s too euphemistic. It’s his reputation as a liar, thief, and cheat that makes attorneys walk away. He lies constantly. He lies to his lawyers. He is untrustworthy. He’s petty and vindictive. His promises are worthless. He doesn’t pay his obligations. He doesn’t pay his lawyers; he doesn’t pay judgments. Tempted by “high fees”? Ha! That’s gossamer smoke. DJT never honors a contract; he’s a brazen, vulgar cheat.
It’s laughably euphemistic. “Difficult” forsooth – try nightmare from hell.
I think this case presents some particular challenges for Trump in finding a lawyer, because he needs someone who has (or can get) a security clearance, and preferably someone with experience in these kinds of cases. In some of his other matters, he can find lawyers who are willing to get stiffed on their fees from Trump because they hope the resulting publicity will bring in a ton of new clients.
But “Espionage Act defense” seems like a pretty small specialty, and lawyers in that world aren’t particularly interested in becoming MAGA superstars from doing bombastic cable news hits.