Trump indictment: What happens if he doesn’t have a lawyer to represent him?

Legal experts are now questioning whether Donald Trump can avoid a guilty verdict in light of increasing indictments. The former president is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Thursday in connection with the 2020 election subversion case.

This is the fourth indictment for Trump this year. As with any defendant in a criminal or civil trial, he is entitled to a legal defense. The makeup of his defense team, however, has been in flux because of the rising number of charges he is facing, and the fact that some of his lawyers have legal troubles of their own or have jumped ship.

Some legal representatives who have previously worked for the ex-president, including Michael Cohen, have been imprisoned for committing crimes on behalf of their client. Cohen eventually turned against Trump, which led to prosecutors in New York charging him with over thirty counts related to breaking campaign finance laws.

The ex-mayor of New York City has also been part of Trump’s legal team in the past, but considering that Rudy Giuliani himself was indicted in the Georgia election subversion matter, it is doubtful that he will have a prominent role.

READ ALSO: Trump co-defendants in Georgia case turn themselves in

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The trouble in finding qualified legal counsel

The Washington Post reported in June that Trump was “scrambling” to find legal counsel after the two high-profile resignations of Jim Trusty and John Rowley earlier that month.

Christopher Kise, the Florida lawyer in charge of the search, faced the challenge of finding suitable attorneys for the historic and politically sensitive case involving Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. Many qualified lawyers were hesitant to take the case due to potential professional repercussions. Furthermore, the legal team member must be licensed to practice in Florida, which further narrows the pool of potential candidates.

For the moment, Trump has assembled overlapping teams of lawyers for the multiple indictments he is facing.

Who are the members of Donald Trump’s legal team?

Hush money case

For the New York state case, where Trump was charged with falsifying business records to facilitate hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, his lawyers are Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York, and Susan Necheles, a veteran New York criminal defense lawyer.

Mar-a-Lago case

For the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case where US Special Counsel Jack Smith accused the ex-president of keeping sensitive national security documents at his estate in Florida after he left office, Blanche will also be one of the lead lawyers. Other members of the team are Christopher Kise, who was Florida solicitor general from 2003 until 2007, and Stephen Weiss, a lawyer who was Blanche’s colleague at the Cadwalader firm.

2020 election case

Smith indicted Trump for a second time in one month over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors charged Trump with defrauding the government and conspiring to deprive voters of their right to fair election. For his third criminal indictment, his team is composed of John Lauro, a Florida criminal defense lawyer, Blanche, and Evan Corcoran, a former federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C.

Georgia election case

A Georgia grand jury has indicted Trump and his allies for interfering in the state’s vote count following the 2020 election. For this case, he will be defended by Drew Findling, a prominent Georgia-based criminal defense lawyer, Marissa Goldberg, a partner at Findling’s law firm, and Jennifer Little, who has her own criminal defense practice.

Trump’s legal team has been established, and some doubts about his capacity to find counsel have been dispelled. Had he been unable to find lawyers to defend him, the court proceedings could have been delayed. For the moment, it looks like the legal proceedings can proceed as scheduled.