Donald Trump’s former lawyer Tim Parlatore may have revealed information “detrimental” to Trump’s legal battles during a recent appearance on CNN, one legal expert suggests.
Parlatore previously served as Trump’s key legal representation in the Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel’s investigation into the former President’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
On Wednesday (May 17), he resigned from his role as Trump’s Legal defense, despite special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the matter continuing.
On Saturday (May 20), Parlatore appeared on CNN, where he spoke about his departure from Trump’s legal team with host Paula Reid, arguing that his problems were not with the case or the client but rather with other team members who “made defending [Trump] much harder than it needed to be.”
He took aim at Trump’s close adviser, Boris Epshteyn, and accused him of doing “everything he could” to “block” the former President’s legal team from doing what they could to protect Trump.
Parlatore asserted that Epshteyn acted as a “filter” between Trump and the rest of the legal team, preventing Trump’s legal representation from getting critical information to or from him.
On Monday (May 22), CNN’s John King discussed the impact of Parlatore’s revealing interview with former federal prosecutor Shan Wu, who now serves as the network’s legal analyst.
When asked if such revelations were rare, Wu described the interview as “extraordinary,” noting there could be ethical implications while suggesting Parlatore’s comments could ultimately be “detrimental” to Trump.
Wu pointed to “rules” that dictate that legal representation can’t disclose client confidences, adding that Trump’s legal team’s “infighting” would form part of those client confidences and that it could be “detriment to the client, Trump.”
