Dershowitz to defend Trump

WASHINGTON (Agencies): US President Donald Trump’s legal team will include former Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, the former independent counsel who led the Whitewater investigation into president Bill Clinton, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The team will also include Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general and a Trump ally.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.

Dershowitz confirmed his role in a series of tweets on Friday, saying he would “present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal.”

“While Professor Dershowitz is non-partisan when it comes to the constitution — he opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton — he believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution,” he said in another tweet.

“He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent,” he said.

With past clients including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, O.J. Simpson, film director Roman Polanski and Mike Tyson, Dershowitz is probably the best known lawyer to the stars in the United States.

The additions give the president additional experience both in constitutional law and in the politics of impeachment. Starr’s investigation into Clinton’s relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky helped set in motion Clinton’s impeachment, the last such case before Congress.