CNN
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Former President Donald Trump has quietly added a new criminal defense attorney to his legal team as he faces possible indictment in the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Attorney John Lauro, who has also represented Trump attorneys Christina Bobb and Alina Habba, is joining the team and will work alongside Todd Blanche, multiple sources told CNN. Lauro will focus solely on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the fallout from the 2020 election and was part of the team trying to find out whether others in Trump’s orbit received target letters after Trump did it on sunday night
Lauro is a former Brooklyn federal prosecutor turned white-collar attorney who practices out of Florida and New York.
A request for comment from Lauro was declined. A Trump spokesman also declined to comment.
Nearly six weeks after being indicted on federal charges in a separate investigation into his alleged mishandling of national security secrets, Trump continues to work to add more weight to his legal team focused on fighting those charges.
William Barzee, a former public defender based in Miami, visited Trump at his golf club in Bedminster last Thursday to discuss joining the team, a source with knowledge of the trip told CNN. He could join the team soon, but nothing has been finalized or announced. Reached Monday for comment, Barzee declined to comment to CNN.
Trump has been trying to hire an experienced Florida-based lawyer for nearly two months after he parted ways with his top two lawyers investigating the documents, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, shortly after he was indicted. His abrupt departure left the case in the hands of Todd Blanche, but Blanche has only been part of Trump’s legal team since April and had not initially been part of the documents investigation.
Chris Kise, the former Florida attorney general, also remains on the team and appeared in court for Trump’s appearance in the documents case last month.
