Two lead lawyers working on Donald Trump’s impeachment defence have quit, leaving his legal strategy in disarray with just over a week before his Senate trial begins.

Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two South Carolina lawyers, left the team after a “mutual decision” with the former president, source familiar with the situation told CNN.

A second source said Trump had differences with Bowers over strategy ahead of the trial.

Trump is still contending that he was the victim of mass election fraud in the November 3 election won by President Joe Biden.

Three other lawyers associated with the team, Josh Howard of North Carolina and Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris of South Carolina, also parted ways with Trump, another source said.

It leaves Trump’s defence team in turmoil as he prepares for a trial starting on February 9 to consider an article of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives charging Trump with inciting the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by his followers.

It’s now unclear who would now represent the former president at the trial. His White House lawyers at his first impeachment trial last year, Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, are not expected to be a part of the proceedings.

“The Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country,” said Trump adviser Jason Miller.

“In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We have done much work, but have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly,” Miller said.

Forty-five Senate Republicans backed a failed effort last Tuesday to halt Trump’s impeachment trial, in a show of party unity that some cited as a clear sign he will not be convicted of inciting insurrection at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, a former spy as claimed the KGB Soviet spy agency and later Russian intelligence cultivated Donald Trump as an “asset” for 40 years and the Kremlin was delighted with the results.

Former KGB major Yuri Shvets told the Guardian the strategy was typical: Focus on reasonably good prospects and hope one of the wooed Americans rises to a position of power or access that can be beneficial.