Dershowitz announces role in Trump impeachment defense

Leading constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz will be part of the legal team representing President Donald Trump in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

By Associated Press

Among those assisting White House counsel Pat Cipollone on President Donald Trump’s legal team for the Senate impeachment trial will be former Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz.

A constitutional law expert, Dershowitz was part of O.J. Simpson’s legal “dream team.” He voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 but has nonetheless been a vocal public defender of Trump, writing a book titled “The Case Against Impeaching Trump.”

Dershowitz said he will present oral arguments outlining the constitutional arguments against Trump’s impeachment to “defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent.” He said he would not be a full-fledged member of the Trump legal team.

Dershowitz has defended a number of controversial clients including Jeffrey Epstein, the multimillionaire who killed himself in jail last summer while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused multiple underage girls.

Ken Starr, the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton, is also part of the defense team.

Starr became a household name with his report on Clinton’s extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. That led to Clinton’s impeachment over 20 years ago.