'Untenable scenario': 3 of Trump’s top lawyers just dropped him as criminal trial looms

Former President Donald Trump's rout of his GOP rivals in the Iowa Caucus appears to not have worked to soothe the moods of three of his top lawyers who, until this week, were defending him in two separate high-profile trials.

The New Republic reports Trump attorneys Joe Tacopina, Chad D. Siegel and Matthew G. DeOreo, of the law firm Tacopina, Siegel and DeOreo, all filed a motion to withdraw as counsel in two of the former president's upcoming cases. The three lawyers had been representing Trump in his currently ongoing defamation trial in which plaintiff E. Jean Carroll is suing for $10 million in damages, and in Trump's upcoming March trial in Manhattan District Court over alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek that while there are "a number of reasons" why an attorney might want to stop representing a client, Tacopina, Siegel and DeOreo may have dropped the ex-president out of frustration that their client wasn't properly following their advice.

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"The attorney-client relationship might have suffered a fundamental breach of confidence, running in either or both directions," McAuliffe said. "A strong-willed client who thinks he or she is more of a lawyer than the actual lawyer can create an untenable scenario for that lawyer to continue representing the client’s interests."

In a statement to the New York Times, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung didn't acknowledge the attorneys' withdrawal motion, but said the former president "has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled."

The E. Jean Carroll defamation trial began with a rocky start for Trump, whose Truth Social account posted more than 30 attacks in less than two hours on the writer whom a jury found last year was sexually abused by Trump. This week's proceedings are simply to determine how much Trump will be ordered to pay, as prior court rulings found him liable for both sexual abuse and defamation.

Trump is scheduled to stand trial in Manhattan on March 25, where District Attorney Alvin Bragg has accused Trump of falsifying business records in relation to alleged payoffs involving Daniels' allegations of an affair prior to the 2016 presidential election. A guilty verdict on all counts could theoretically result in more than 600 years in prison. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

READ MORE: Judge slams door on Trump's last-minute attempt to delay Tuesday's E. Jean Carroll trial