Two lawyers representing him Donald Trump in the case of classified documentswhich he took with him to his Mar-al-Lago home after leaving the White House, they resigned today, after the former president was arraigned in federal court on charges of possession of classified documents, obstruction of justice and other offenses.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that a former associate of Trump’s, ex-military aide Wal Nouta, was also impeached.

Nowta worked at the White House and followed Trump to Mar-al-Lago.

He reportedly helped transport the cardboard boxes containing documents and other memorabilia from Trump’s time as president. According to US media, he had initially told authorities that he did not know whether Trump had kept classified documents but later admitted that he was transporting some boxes.

The Justice Department subpoenaed Mar-a-Lago’s security camera footage, which showed the boxes had been moved, raising suspicions of possible obstruction of justice.

FBI agents seized nearly 13,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago in an investigation last summer. About a hundred of them were marked “classified”, although one of Trump’s lawyers had previously assured that all the classified documents had been returned to the US government.

Trump had claimed he withheld the documents because he declassified them himself, in his capacity as US president.

The lawyers resigned

The surprise announcement of the resignations of attorneys John Rowley and Jim Trusty could spell further legal complications ahead of Trump’s appearance in federal court in Miami next Tuesday.

“This morning we submitted our resignations to President Trump,” they said in a statement. “It has been our honor to spend the last year defending him and we know he will be vindicated,” they added.

Trump announced via social networking sites that Todd Blanch, an attorney specializing in financial law, is representing him.

It is the first time in American history that a former president has been impeached at the federal level. The case, however, does not prevent him from continuing his election campaign, nor from assuming the presidency if he wins the November 2024 election. According to experts, there is no legal basis for him not to be sworn in as president, even if he is sentenced to prison.