Chris Kise, who served as Floridas solicitor general under Gov. Jeb Bush in 2003-07, will be part of former President Donald Trumps defense team, according to a filing made in federal court Tuesday.
Kise is a pro hac vice addition to Trumps legal team, as the former president will go before a district court judge in Miami Tuesday. Kises 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.
SEE MORE: What happens during and after Trumps arraignment?
Kise joins Todd Blanche on Trumps defense. Kise previously represented Trump in the former presidents 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 masters 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 Partys 2024 presidential nomination. Polling shows DeSantis is second among likely primary voters behind Trump.
Blanche has been Trumps lead attorney in a separate felony case out of New York. In April, Trump was charged by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office for allegedly falsifying business documents.
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