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Trump’s Planning to Hire Trey Gowdy For His Legal Team

President Donald Trump’s attempts to hire South Carolina Representative Trey Gowdy for his legal team to fight impeachment may be backfiring over concerns about rules restricting his post-Congress activities.

Fox News reported that it was announced last week that Gowdy would be joining Trump’s legal team to fight House Democrats’ effort to impeach him. However, a source close to the situation is now saying that there was concern about a statute that says former lawmakers cannot communicate with or appear before their former colleagues for a year after leaving Congress.

Gowdy only retired from Congress earlier this year, which means the one-year restriction would be up in January 2020.

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In joining Trump’s legal team, Gowdy was set to appear on television news programs, and this reportedly caused concerns about whether that could be considered communicating with former colleagues in violation of the statute. Another source said Trump’s legal team needed Gowdy on television making the case now.

Violations of these post-Congress restrictions, which were put in place to prevent lawmakers from lobbying immediately after leaving Congress, are considered a felony. That being said, the source stressed that this had nothing to do with “lobbying work” and instead was simply about the rules prohibiting former members of Congress from doing anything to influence lawmakers, even as an attorney for the president.

The source went on to say that Gowdy had lunch with Trump last Tuesday to discuss working as an outside counsel. Both White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone desperately wanted Gowdy to join the team, but over the next few days, Gowdy himself began to worry that taking the job would run afoul of the congressional rules about “influence” and sought an outside legal opinion for guidance.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, Gowdy has reportedly told Trump’s team that he would not be available to join them until January 4, according to the source. At this time, Gowdy is still expected to join the legal team on that date, with the caveat that a lot can change between now and then.

This comes just one week after Trump attorney Jay Sekulow officially welcomed Gowdy to the team.

“I am pleased to announce that former Congressman Trey Gowdy is joining our team as counsel to the president,” he said. “I have known Trey for years and worked with him when he served in Congress. His legal skills and his advocacy will serve the president well. Trey’s command of the law is well known and his service on Capitol Hill will be a great asset as a member of our team.”

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