Chris Kise, who served as Florida’s solicitor general under Gov. Jeb Bush in 2003-07, will be part of former President Donald Trump’s defense team, according to a filing made in federal court Tuesday.
Kise is a pro hac vice addition to Trump’s legal team, as the former president will go before a district court judge in Miami Tuesday. Kise’s participation means Trump will have local counsel, which many federal judges require in their courtrooms.
Trump is facing 37 felony counts for allegedly improperly handling classified documents after leaving the presidency.
Last week, Trump announced that two of his top attorneys, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned less than a day after news broke that Trump faces a federal indictment.
What happens during and after Trump’s arraignment?
To go from trial to arraignment could take months — if not over a year — as both sides prepare for a drawn-out legal battle.
Kise joins Todd Blanche on Trump’s defense. Kise previously represented Trump in the former president’s request to have a special master review documents seized by the FBI last August.
While initially successful, the Department of Justice won an appeal to stop the special master’s review, allowing prosecutors to continue reviewing documents turned up in the August 2022 search.
Among his former clients, Kise was part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ transition team. Like Trump, DeSantis is vying for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. Polling shows DeSantis is second among likely primary voters behind Trump.
Blanche has been Trump’s lead attorney in a separate felony case out of New York. In April, Trump was charged by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for allegedly falsifying business documents.
