Just hours before Donald Trump's attorneys are to launch their defense of the previous president in his Senate impeachment trial, sources tell ABC News that there is growing tension inside the legal team.
Resources together with immediate knowledge of this situation tell ABC News that Trump wants lawyer Bruce Castor to have a diminished role in the presentation in favour of co-counsel David Schoen, which they state is leading to some infighting. A number of sources near Trump say they are hoping that Schoen takes charge and wraps up the defense's presentation on Friday.
However, in an appearance on Newsmax Friday morning, Trump senior adviser Jason Miller explained that Friday could be"redemption day" for Castor and that his arguments were likely to be crisper and tighter.
Earlier Friday afternoon, sources state a frustrated Trump went so far as to toss out ideas for other lawyers who might combine his defense team in the eleventh hour, even though they agreed that's improbable.
Neither Castor, Schoen or agents of the former president promptly responded to inquiries from ABC News trying comment.
House Democrats filed a single article of impeachment against Trump on Jan. 13 for"incitement of insurrection" following the violent and lethal siege on the U.S. Capitol weekly earlier.
The pair faced scrutiny earlier this week after critics said their opening statements meandered and at times lost the attention of the audience from the Senate chamber, exacerbating concern among a number of Trump's supporters over whether his attorneys are fit to present a satisfactory protection.
