Alan Dershowitz wrote an op-ed in the Daily Caller entitled “Why Can’t Trump Find A Decent Lawyer?”.
In it he provides more detail about Trump’s difficulty in finding good attorneys to represent him in the DOJ’s persecution case against him:
Former President Donald Trump has now been arraigned and pleaded not guilty. He was represented by two lawyers, neither of whom he apparently wants to lead his defense at trial. He has been interviewing Florida lawyers, and several top ones have declined. I know, because I have spoken to them. There are disturbing suggestions that among the reasons lawyers are declining the case is because they fear legal and career reprisals.
The 65 Project
There is a nefarious group that calls itself The 65 Project that has as its goal to intimidate lawyers into not representing Trump or anyone associated with him. They have threatened to file bar charges against any such lawyers. When these threats first emerged, I wrote an op-ed offering to defend pro bono any lawyers that The 65 Project goes after. So The 65 Project immediately went after me, and contrived a charge based on a case in which I was a constitutional consultant, but designed to send a message to potential Trump lawyers: if you defend Trump or anyone associated with him, we will target you and find something to charge you with. The lawyers to whom I spoke are fully aware of this threat — and they are taking it seriously.
Good lawyers, however, generally welcome challenges, especially in high-profile cases. This case is different: the threats to the lawyers are greater than at any time since McCarthyism. Nor is the comparison to McCarthyism a stretch. I recall during the 1950s how civil liberties lawyers, many of whom despised communism, were cancelled, and attacked if they dared to represent people accused of being communists. Even civil liberties organizations stayed away from such cases, for fear that it would affect their fundraising and general standing in the community. It may even be worse today, as I can attest from my own personal experiences, having defended Trump against an unconstitutional impeachment in 2020. I was cancelled by my local library, community center and synagogue. Old friends refused to speak to me and threatened others who did. My wife, who disagreed with my decision to defend Trump, was also ostracized. There were physical threats to my safety.
Trump is not the easiest client…
There may be other reasons as well for why lawyers are reluctant to defend Trump. He is not the easiest client, and he has turned against some of his previous lawyers, as some of his previous lawyers have turned against him. This will be a difficult case to defend and an unpopular one with many in the legal profession and in general population.
You all know how I feel about this case. Trump has undoubtedly made some mistakes here, but so did Hillary. Hell, she destroyed evidence in multiple ways and yet the FBI and DOJ let her off the hook without even a smack on the hand. For the same DOJ to prosecute Trump is absolutely a double standard of justice and I hate it.
But all of that withstanding, the case is in the courts now and Trump deserves good representation. I would hope that the bar association would make clear to everyone that threats, like those from The 65 Project, won’t have much weight with them and that attorneys should feel free to represent whomever they choose, even if it’s former President Trump.