Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr and Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz have joined President Donald Trump’s impeachment legal team ahead of the Senate’s upcoming trial.
“Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal,” a spokesperson for the legal team said in a statement Friday. “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.”
Dershowitz, one of the country’s most high-profile constitutional lawyers, confirmed the news to CNBC. “The president asked me to do this, and the legal team asked me to do this,” he said.
Starr, a former appeals court judge who headed up the investigation into the Whitewater the Monica Lewinsky scandals, has yet to confirm the news.
Robert Ray, an ex-federal prosecutor and independent counsel who took over for Starr in the Whitewater probe, is also expected to join the president’s legal team, CNN reports.
Katie Zacharia offered role as White House Press Secretary
Marco Rubio announces sweeping financial sanctions against the International Criminal Court
Netanyahu leads outcry over ICC judge who declared genocide in Gaza being awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Denver, Boulder ignored ICE detainers for migrants with child abuse, assault arrests, House GOP report reveals
Radical anti-Trump language riddles California voter guide on high-stakes ballot measure
Breaking: Legendary NFL Coach Mike Ditka Dies at 86
Breaking: Turbulence Forces NYC-Bound Plane to Land, 8 Hospitalized
Kohberger prosecutors say no as Idaho killer tries to boot judge who called him a ‘faceless coward’
Op-Ed from Iranian Kurd: Handing Iraqi Kurdistan to Tehran Would Be a Big Mistake
Jim Jordan Sums Up Progressive Platform in Scathing Takedown: ‘The Left Hates 2 Countries – America and Israel’
Severe turbulence diverts New York City flight to Miami, 8 injured
Could Trump play hardball to prevent an MLB lockout?
Trump cuts $810 million in federal spending he previously approved
Kathy Hochul counts on Mamdani to rev reelection turnout despite GOP attacks
Dem Congressional Candidate Claims She Was Raped While Repairing Campaign Signs and Hid from Her Husband for Days
“You can confirm that I expect an announcement this afternoon,” Ray told CNBC of the report.
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, President Trump’s personal attorney, will lead the defense team.
The development comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) bowed to pressure on Wednesday from Republicans and several Democrats to transfer two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — to the Senate after a near four-week delay. Additionally, Pelosi announced the seven House Democrats who will serve as impeachment managers in the trial, naming: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Val Demings (D-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX). Schiff was appointed lead impeachment manager.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said this week that the trial will likely start next Tuesday.
Katie Zacharia offered role as White House Press Secretary
Marco Rubio announces sweeping financial sanctions against the International Criminal Court
Netanyahu leads outcry over ICC judge who declared genocide in Gaza being awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Denver, Boulder ignored ICE detainers for migrants with child abuse, assault arrests, House GOP report reveals
Radical anti-Trump language riddles California voter guide on high-stakes ballot measure
Breaking: Legendary NFL Coach Mike Ditka Dies at 86
Breaking: Turbulence Forces NYC-Bound Plane to Land, 8 Hospitalized
Kohberger prosecutors say no as Idaho killer tries to boot judge who called him a ‘faceless coward’
Op-Ed from Iranian Kurd: Handing Iraqi Kurdistan to Tehran Would Be a Big Mistake
Jim Jordan Sums Up Progressive Platform in Scathing Takedown: ‘The Left Hates 2 Countries – America and Israel’
Severe turbulence diverts New York City flight to Miami, 8 injured
Could Trump play hardball to prevent an MLB lockout?
Trump cuts $810 million in federal spending he previously approved
Kathy Hochul counts on Mamdani to rev reelection turnout despite GOP attacks
Dem Congressional Candidate Claims She Was Raped While Repairing Campaign Signs and Hid from Her Husband for Days
“We’ll be able to go through some preliminary steps here this week, which could well include the Chief Justice coming over and swearing-in members of the Senate and some other kind of housekeeping measures…which would set us up to begin the actual trial next Tuesday,” McConnell confirmed at a Capitol Hill press conference.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized the Democrats’ impeachment effort as a “hoax” and an “illegal, partisan attempted coup.”
Story cited here.
