Who is Butch Bowers? Donald Trump hires election law expert from South Carolina to fight his impeachment battle
As reports surface that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnel has asked Democrats to delay the beginning of ex-President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial to next month, Trump finally hires a lawyer for his defense. According to the Daily Mail, Democratic Senator Chris Coons said they will be "open" to the delay if the Senate is set to move forward and confirm President Joe Biden's nominees for Cabinet. "Democrats will be open to considering a delay that allows former President Trump time to assemble his legal team and his defense for the impeachment trial if we are making progress on confirming the very talented, seasoned, and diverse team that president Joe Biden has nominated to serve in his cabinet," he told CNN.
As for Trump's impeachment lawyer, his name is Butch Bowers, who is a South Carolina attorney, and an expert in election law issues. Senator Lindsey Graham has revealed this to GOP senators and reports indicate that Trump's impeachment trial could last only 3 days. Daily Mail reveals that McConnel has proposed a timeline of the upcoming events as he also said in a statement: "Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency, and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair process that respects his rights and the serious factual, legal, and constitutional questions at stake."
His timeline reveals that on January 28 the Impeachment article will arrive at the Senate and the senators will be sworn in. February 4 will then make the deadline at which Trump has to respond to the article of impeachment and the House will hold a pre-trial brief. On February 11, Trump's pre-trial brief will be due, and on February 13, the house's rebuttal pre-trial brief will be due.
Who is Trump's impeachment lawyer?
According to reports, Republican Senator Mike Braun of Indiana said, "McConnell said that an attorney had been hired and that they agreed to certain procedure and process, and timing," to reporters on Capitol Hill. "From what I understand from today's conversation is, it does not get started until sometime mid-February, due to the fact that the process, as it occurred in the House evolved so quickly, and that it is not in line with the time you need to prepare for a defense in a Senate trial," he added.
Trump has hired Butch Bowers to represent him in his impeachment trial. Bowers, who is a South Carolina attorney considered to be an "expert in election law issues," is also a former chairman of the state Election Commission. Reports reveal that Trump's impeachment lawyer also served as counsel in the state of Florida for John McCain's presidential campaign and worked for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. His website revealed that he serves as State Staff Judge Advocate for the Joint Force Headquarters of the South Carolina Air National Guard and holds the federally-recognized rank of Colonel.
"I think he's gonna have a good one. Butch Bowers, I think, will be the sort of the anchor tenant. But I've known Butch for a long time, solid guy," said Graham to reporters on Capitol Hill. The Senator also said that Bowers has been involved in "complex litigation." According to Forbes, Bowers has worked for South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and also represented former Gov. Mark Sanford in an ethics investigation and state impeachment battle.
According to the lawyer's website, his educational background includes Tulane University School of Law (Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1998), College of Charleston (Master of Public Administration, 1993) and University of South Carolina (Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, 1988). The South Carolina native is married to Julie of Lake Charles, LA since 1994 and the couple lives in Columbia, SC with four children named Kale, William, Mary Evelyn and Virginia.