Nicolai Haugsted
Trump heads into three massive appeals after losing most of his elite legal team.
Donald Trump is heading toward a demanding stretch of courtroom battles with a considerably smaller legal operation than the one assembled to fight some of his most consequential cases.
According to The Daily Beast, four of the five Sullivan & Cromwell partners originally brought in to represent the president have since left the team, according to Politico. Robert Giuffra Jr., co-chair of the prestigious law firm, was reportedly the only member of the original group still representing Trump by April.
The departures arrive as Trump pursues three separate appeals involving his criminal conviction in New York, the E. Jean Carroll defamation case and the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Sullivan & Cromwell entered Trump’s legal orbit last year as he prepared to challenge his conviction over falsified business records.
The original five-person team carried unusually strong legal credentials. All five partners had previously served as clerks to US Supreme Court justices, prompting The New York Times at the time to describe their involvement as evidence that prominent figures in the legal profession had grown more receptive to Trump.
Much of that lineup has since disappeared.
Two partners moved to another law firm, while Trump himself selected others for government and judicial positions.
Jamie McDonald was chosen by Trump to serve as US attorney in Manhattan, while Matthew Schwartz received a nomination for a lifetime position on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Giuffra consequently remains responsible for a substantial collection of high-profile litigation.
Additional Sullivan & Cromwell partners are expected to join the president’s team within the coming weeks, Politico reported, citing a person familiar with the situation.
Three appeals create mounting workload
Deadlines are already approaching.
Trump’s lawyers must submit a brief by August 26 as part of his effort to erase the remaining fraud finding from the civil case brought by James.
That appeal follows a significant victory for Trump after an appellate court overturned a financial judgment of roughly $500 million. Judges did not, however, eliminate the underlying finding that Trump had committed fraud by misrepresenting the value of assets and his net worth to obtain more favorable financial terms.
Trump now wants New York’s highest court to remove that finding as well.
Another major deadline follows in October, when his attorneys are expected to submit arguments seeking to overturn his May 2024 criminal conviction.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to a hush-money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Giuffra is simultaneously involved in Trump’s continuing legal fight with writer E. Jean Carroll.
Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to Carroll after a jury concluded that his statements about her had damaged her reputation.
Only Giuffra and a junior attorney signed Trump’s Supreme Court petition in July, according to Politico.
Carroll has already prevailed in a separate case against Trump. Jurors awarded her $5 million in 2023 after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and the Supreme Court subsequently declined to hear his challenge to that judgment.
The latest petition therefore represents Trump’s attempt to overturn the much larger award from Carroll’s second case.
Trump appointments contributed to departures
Changes inside the legal team are partly connected to Trump’s own recruitment of lawyers for positions elsewhere in government.
His decision to appoint or nominate members of the original Sullivan & Cromwell group reduced the number of partners available for the president’s private litigation, while two others independently moved to a rival firm.
Giuffra has maintained close ties to Trump’s legal operation and reportedly encouraged Sullivan & Cromwell to represent him. Politico reported last month that Trump had even considered Giuffra for attorney general before ultimately selecting Todd Blanche, who previously represented Trump as a criminal defense lawyer.
Some lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell have reportedly taken a different view of the relationship. According to the reports, members of the firm have departed partly because of concerns surrounding its association with the president.
With three appeals progressing simultaneously, the personnel changes leave Trump’s legal operation facing several significant deadlines while Sullivan & Cromwell works to rebuild the team handling the cases.
