CNN
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A lawyer who was representing former President Donald Trump in his defamation lawsuit against CNN said Friday that he was withdrawing from the case, in the latest sign of the break-up of the Trump legal team since the lawyer, Jim Trusty, and another Trump attorney stopped representing the former president in the criminal documents case against him.
“Mr. Trusty’s withdrawal is based upon irreconcilable differences between Counsel and Plaintiff and Counsel can no longer effectively and properly represent Plaintiff,” Trusty said in a filing requesting the court’s permission to withdraw.
Trusty, along with attorney John Rowley, previously announced that they would not represent Trump in the charges that special counsel Jack Smith brought against the former president, related to the sensitive government documents he retained from his presidency and his alleged obstruction of the federal investigation into the handling of those materials.
They made the announcement last Friday morning, after Trump was told of the indictment. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday.
The lawsuit against CNN, which seeks $475 million in damages, accuses the network of a “campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander” that “escalated in recent months.”
CNN has asked the judge for the case to be “dismissed with prejudice.”
Trusty’s withdrawal does not end the defamation case, and Trump is still represented by legal counsel in Florida in that civil case.
