David Schoen, one of the attorneys on Donald Trump’s current defense team for his impeachment trial, quit the team last night over a dispute on how the defense team wanted to use video clips, but was persuaded to remain onboard after talking to Trump, according to the New York Times.
Schoen survived the purge of Trump’s first team of lawyers, who quit en masse a week before the impeachment trial started. Schoen, a late addition to the first edition of the team, stayed on and joined the new team of legal advisors.
However, before the defense team started its arguments Friday, Schoen and fellow attorney Bruce Castor feuded about who would present first. They eventually agreed that a third lawyer, Michael van der Veen, would open the day.
Schoen than disagreed with how the defense team would use videos in the presentation, and it came to such a point that Schoen announced he resigned. It was only after a call from Donald Trump, who pleaded with Schoen to stay on the team, that Schoen reversed his decision.
The defense team repeatedly used the same videos repeatedly during the case, including one 10-minute video that showed Democrats using the word “fight” in out of context clips.