Is Trump ready for his impeachment trial?

With a new Senate trial looming after President Donald Trump was impeached for a second time Wednesday, House Democrats say they are “ready to go” — but Trump’s legal strategy remains a complete unknown, as he reportedly struggles to find lawyers to represent him.

Trump’s original cast of impeachment lawyers, who represented him during his first impeachment trial — including White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow — have abandoned him, according to Bloomberg, as have a number of other prominent conservative legal figures.

One lawyer who has not done so, however, is Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, failed election lawyer, and conspiracy theory enthusiast.

Giuliani has told ABC that he is “involved” with the president’s impeachment trial defense, and he has even floated a possible Trump appearance at the trial.

“You always make that decision at the last minute,” Giuliani told ABC’s Jonathan Karl this week of the possibility of Trump testifying. “As a lawyer, I wouldn’t be as strongly opposed to his testifying as I was [in Trump’s first impeachment trial].”

Still, Giuliani’s exact role is uncertain: According to Karl, Trump’s legal strategy remains “very much in the air,” and Hogan Gidley, who served as Trump’s campaign press secretary in 2020, has pushed back on the idea that Giuliani will play a role.