Trump unable to find more lawyers before Mar-a-Lago documents arraignment: report

13 June 2023

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 will mark a first in U.S. history: the first time a former president was arraigned on federal criminal charges.

When former President Donald Trump appears in a federal courthouse in Miami to be arraigned on 37 felony counts, he will — according to The Guardian's Hugo Lowell — be represented by two attorneys: former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche and former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise. Lowell also reports, however, that "several" other Florida-based attorneys have "declined to take him as a client" in the case.

The 37-count indictment stems from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of government documents Trump was storing at his Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach. Trump has claimed that all the documents were "declassified," while prosecutors are arguing that the documents should have remained in Washington, D.C. when Trump left the White House on January 6, 2021. The charges include obstruction of justice, and Trump is accused of violating the Espionage Act of 1917.

Lowell, in an article published by The Guardian on June 13, reports that although Trump and his attorneys spent the "afternoon before his arraignment interviewing potential lawyers," those interviews "did not result in" anyone being added in time for the arraignment.

"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," Lowell explains. "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 indictment is in addition to a 34-count New York State prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. Trump was arraigned on those charges in early April. The June 13 court appearance, however, marks the first time Trump has been arraigned on federal charges.

In addition to those federal and state prosecutions, Trump is facing two criminal investigations focusing on his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results: a federal probe by Smith and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and a Georgia investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The Guardian's full report is available at this link.

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