Former President Trump's tortured relationship with his own lawyers has been at the root of his most consequential scandals, including two special counsel inquiries, two impeachments and — now — two indictments.

Why it matters: Trump's history of treating lawyers like attack dogs and personal fixers — shaped by his mentorship under the infamous Roy Cohn in the 1970s — has put him in the most precarious legal jeopardy of his life.

• In New York, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen is expected to testify at trial in March that he arranged illegal hush money payments during the 2016 campaign at Trump's direction.
• In Miami, where Trump is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court tomorrow, notes and testimony from his lawyer Evan Corcoran gave prosecutors a detailed roadmap to indict the former president in the classified documents investigations.

Zoom in: Corcoran, who remains a member of Trump's legal team, was forced to testify after a judge determined there was sufficient evidence that Trump used Corcoran to commit a crime — a move that pierced standard attorney-client privilege.

• The 37-count indictment unsealed Friday alleges that Trump's legal team falsely certified to the Justice Department that all classified documents Trump had taken had been turned over in response to a subpoena.
• Trump allegedly misled Corcoran by directing his personal aide, Walt Nauta, to move dozens of boxes containing classified records before Corcoran arrived at Mar-a-Lago to conduct a review.

Flashback: The first major investigation of Trump's time in office found that the then-president may have obstructed justice by ordering White House counsel Don McGahn to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. McGahn refused.

• In 2019, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani worked with the president to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden — resulting in Trump's first impeachment.
• In 2020, Trump turned to a cast of conspiracy theorists and fringe legal scholars to help him try to overturn his election loss — leading to a second impeachment and criminal probe of his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The latest: Trump interviewed new candidates to join his legal team today after reportedly struggling over the weekend to find lawyers qualified — and willing — to represent him in the Southern District of Florida.

• Two of Trump's lawyers resigned the day after his indictment last week, calling it a "logical moment" to step aside because the case was filed in Florida.
• Timothy Parlatore, another Trump lawyer who had resigned a month earlier, said on CNN on Friday that the departures were "surprising, and yet at the same time unsurprising" — calling it a "difficult situation."

The bottom line: Trump is one of the most famous and wealthiest criminal defendants in the world. But his record of dragging his own lawyers into the mud has turned him into a radioactive client.

Share this story.

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley pivoted today in her response to Trump's indictment, telling Fox News that — if the charges are true — the former president was "incredibly reckless with our national security."

• Haley tweeted Friday before the indictment was publicly released: "This is not how justice should be pursued in our country. The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics."

Why it matters: Haley's careful shift illustrates the challenge Trump's Republican rivals face pursuing a narrative of government "weaponization" when the evidence against the former president appears to be overwhelming.

• "Two things can be true at the same time: One, the DOJ and FBI have lost all credibility with the American people," Haley said.
• "Two ... this puts all of our military men and women in danger," Haley added in reference to the classified national security documents Trump allegedly mishandled.

The big picture: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) adopted a similar needle-threading approach, telling reporters that Trump is facing a "serious case with serious allegations" — while also claiming the Biden administration is "targeting and hunting Republicans."

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was more veiled, blasting the Justice Department while quipping that he "would have been court-martialed in a New York minute" if he had mishandled classified documents as a Navy lawyer.

The other side: Vivek Ramaswamy has launched into an aggressive defense of Trump, filing a Freedom of Information Act request demanding communications between the Biden White House and Justice Department about the indictment.

• The move is purely symbolic — and possibly part of an audition to be Trump's running mate — as the White House's central offices are exempted from FOIA requests.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent letters to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf today demanding information on their bombshell mega-merger announced last week.

Why it matters: The PGA's deal with Saudi-backed LIV stunned the worlds of sports and politics and drew bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill, where Blumenthal is leading the first concrete response from official Washington.

What they're saying: The Connecticut Democrat wrote that the deal "raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution."

The other side: PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan sent a letter to senators Friday appearing to shift part of the blame on Congress, saying the tour was "largely left on our own to fend off" the Saudi efforts to effectively buy the sport of golf, Politico scooped.

President Biden was forced to skip his public events and reschedule a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today in order to complete a root canal procedure.

• The White House said Biden was not put under general anesthesia and the 25th Amendment was not invoked to temporarily transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Flashback: As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, Biden received two middle-of-the-night root canals in order to preside over Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas' contentious confirmation hearings (h/t Wall Street Journal's Ken Thomas).