“Suicide mission”: Trump reportedly turned down by lawyers because his “case is a certain loser” 
Igor Derysh
Thu, July 27, 2023 at 5:49 AM PDT·3 min read
Former President Donald Trump is struggling to find enough lawyers to defend him in a mounting number of legal cases, according to Rolling Stone.
Trump, who has been indicted in connection to the 2016 campaign hush-money payments in Manhattan and the Mar-a-Lago documents case, faces potential indictments for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in D.C. and Georgia. But Trump's effort to recruit new lawyers to defend him has been "fraught," in part because Trump is an "infamously difficult client," sources told the outlet.
One attorney who turned down Trump told Rolling Stone they were dissuaded by the long track record of Trump's lawyers finding themselves in their own legal jeopardy. Other attorneys who have discussed the case with Trump believe the Jan. 6 "case is a certain loser for the defense," according to the report. Given that the trial would be held in deep-blue D.C., even some of Trump's top legal and political advisers have privately called the job of defending Trump a "suicide mission," the report added.
Other lawyers have approached the Trump team themselves and were "initially receptive" before "pulling out because of concerns from their peers," according to the report, which added that partners at some firms objected to taking on the former president as a client because it could cost them other clients.
Even attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was part of Trump's first impeachment defense team, has repeatedly declined offers to join Trump's team, including as recently as last month.
Trump's struggles began in June when several top attorneys handling the Mar-a-Lago case and a legal strategy for a possible Jan. 6-related indictment abruptly resigned.
Trump in private has also teased to his legal team that he wants to use any potential Jan. 6 trial to push his widely debunked election fraud claims and wants his lawyers to show "proof" that the election was stolen.
