Lawyer and frequent cable news contributor Tristan Snell pointed out on Twitter on Monday that former President Donald Trump may be having serious trouble finding a competent legal team to represent him in the aftermath of the FBI raid on his Florida resort residence searching for classified documents Trump and his team took with them when they left the White House in January of 2021.

via Twitter

Snell originally reported that Trump would be representing himself, based on court filings found online at the Federal Court System’s website. Snell wrote “BREAKING: Trump is representing HIMSELF, with no lawyer at all, in his case against the United States regarding the search of Mar-a-Lago and recovery of government records. The legal term is “pro se” – for himself –  He could not find anyone to represent him.”

via Twitter @ Tristan Snell

Snell continued, noting that Trump representing himself could actually be just his lawyers botching the filing:

“There are attorneys on a motion, though. So what is going on here? Is this a publicity stunt by Trump? Or some kind of administrative snafu? Or did the attorneys file the motion without first appearing / being admitted for the case? This is highly unusual, to say the least. More on this:

— Reading the filing, it does not feel like a lawyer drafted it. The ranting sounds very much like Trump. Did he just get 3 lawyers to put their names on it?

— Best case for him: the lawyers are indeed on the case but botched the filing so he appears pro se. Oops.”

via Twitter

In a later update, Snell wrote:

“UPDATE: Trump’s lawyers’ motions to appear DENIED by Court. Lawyers from outside a jurisdiction must file motions to be admitted “pro hac vice” (for this case).

This explains why he was listed as pro se (unrepresented) — these lawyers have yet to be admitted for this case.

The Court told the lawyers to try again. So they can fix the problem. Maybe.

So our updated understanding is that Trump might have lawyers — but they are having trouble filing things.

One of the three lawyers is admitted in Florida and thereby has now officially appeared in the case. This is Lindsay Halligan, an insurance litigator who for some reason is now involved with this case.”

About Author

Christopher Powell