Lawyers Leave Trump Ahead of Senate Trial

Several lawyers for former US President Donald Trump have said they will not defend him days before his impeachment trial, CNN and other US media reported.

Five lawyers, reportedly including two leaders of the New York billionaire's legal team, have severed ties with him following disagreements over strategy, the television network reported, citing anonymous sources.

Trump wanted his lawyers to continue defending the thesis of massive fraud in the presidential elections that allowed Democrat Joe Biden to win, instead of focusing on the legality of prosecuting a president no longer in office, CNN added, noting that the former president is unwilling to discuss it.

Among the lawyers who resigned are Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, who were supposed to lead Donald Trump's defense team, according to the television network and other outlets.

"We have been working hard, but we have not yet made a final decision on our legal team, we will do so soon," Jason Miller, Trump's advisor, wrote on Twitter, reacting to media reports.

Donald Trump's trial for "incitement to rebellion" after the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6 is scheduled to begin on February 9.

However, with only five Republican senators willing to join the 50 Democratic senators who believe the former president should be tried, the two-thirds majority, or 67 senators, required to proceed is unlikely to be reached.