'It's his life': Steve Bannon's attorney explains why he's bailing on his client's fraud case
Appearing on CNN the morning after he had a major falling out with his client before a judge and asked to be allowed to resign from the case, attorney David Schoen explained the "irreconcilable" differences he has with his soon-to-be former client Steve Bannon.
Speaking with "CNN This Morning" co-host Kaitlan Collins, Schoen said that his client was not allowing him to present the best possible defense and that he has no choice but to step aside.
As the Associated Press reported, Schoen is representing Bannon in a case where he is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, and fraud related to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign.
AP reported, "Bannon, a conservative rabble-rouser and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, has until a Feb. 28 hearing to find new counsel, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said. His current lawyers, David Schoen and John Mitchell, must stay on the case until then, the judge said."
Appearing on CNN, Schoen, said he still talks to his client -- but that he uses another attorney as an intermediary.
"I guess the first question I have for you, is when was the last time that you and Steve Bannon spoke?" host Collins prompted.
"We spoke, we just don't speak about this case," Schoen explained. "I concluded that we had irreconcilable differences about the approach to the case, the defense of the case, the strategy in the case, the resources for the case. So the best policy was not to talk about it anymore. I talked to him through a third-party lawyer. I still represent him in the case in D.C. and I speak to him."
"So you still talk to him about other cases, but when it comes to this border wall case he's facing, you speak through a third-party attorney to talk to Steve Bannon?" Collins pressed.
"Yeah, there's no point any further in discussing issues surrounding this case," he elaborated. "We have very different views of how it should be handled. When I take on a case, I need to be able to handle it in the way I see is appropriate. Frankly, there was a bit of a breakdown in the D.C. trial. I disagreed with the trial strategy in the case. When the trial came, I refused to participate in the examination of witnesses and arguments. I just handled the legal issues in that case, even though I had been hired to be the lead lawyer."
After stating that he needs to follow "...the rules of professional conduct as well," he later added, "I can't go into those details, as I know you know, and Steve Bannon may well be right and I may be wrong. But it's his case, it's his life and he deserves to be able to proceed with a defense he thinks is appropriate."
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