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Trump Legal Team to Add Starr and Dershowitz for Senate Trial Trump Legal Team to Add Starr and Dershowitz for Senate Trial
(about 3 hours later)
President Trump plans on adding former independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr and the defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz to his legal team for his trial by the Senate, a person briefed on the plan said Friday. President Trump plans to add former independent counsel Ken Starr and the celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz to his defense team for the Senate impeachment trial that gets underway in earnest next week, turning to two veterans of politically charged legal cases to secure his acquittal.
Mr. Starr, whose investigation into President Bill Clinton’s sexual relationships led to his impeachment, will be joined by Robert Ray, who succeeded Mr. Starr as independent counsel and wrote the final report on Mr. Clinton, the person said. Mr. Starr, whose investigation into President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice in 1998, will be joined by Robert W. Ray, his successor as independent counsel who negotiated a final settlement with Mr. Clinton that included a fine and law license suspension, according to a person briefed on the plan.
Mr. Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor emeritus who became famous as a defense counsel for high-profile defendants like O.J. Simpson, will have a more limited role than the two former independent counsels, presenting oral arguments at the Senate trial “to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal,” the team said in a statement. Mr. Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor emeritus who became famous as a defense counsel for high-profile defendants like O.J. Simpson, will have a more limited role than the two former independent counsels, presenting oral arguments at the Senate trial “to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal,” the legal team said in a statement.
The White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, will lead the legal team. Others will be added as well, including Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who has been a spokeswoman for the defense effort, and Jane Raskin, who defended Mr. Trump during the inquiry by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, will also join the team, officials said. The built-out team, which will be led by the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, faces the dual challenge of preserving the president’s support among Republican senators and presenting his case to the wider public watching on television during an election year. As long as Senate Republicans stick with Mr. Trump as expected, his accusers will not be able to muster the two-thirds vote required for conviction.
For weeks, Mr. Trump has tried to add what he sees as combative allies to the legal team that will defend him in the Senate. He initially wanted three House Republicans to be on the team, but Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, objected. In choosing Mr. Starr, Mr. Dershowitz and Mr. Ray, the president in effect assembled his view of an all-star television legal team. While best known to the general public in the 1990s, all three have made the rounds of Fox News and other media outlets lately to defend Mr. Trump and accuse House Democrats of pursuing a partisan witch hunt, appearances that appealed to the president, who complains that many of his allies do not defend him vigorously enough.
The president has been concerned about having media-savvy defenders play the same vocal role that Rudolph W. Giuliani did during the Mueller investigation. Mr. Dershowitz has been a media figure for years and Mr. Starr was a contributor to Fox News until parting ways with it because of his new role with Mr. Trump. Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, said he was pleased with the team. “I was encouraged by it,” he said.
For Mr. Trump’s most combative supporters, though, they may not provide the sort of defense Mr. Trump has sought. Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist who has been hosting a daily radio show and podcast on impeachment with a group that often coordinates with the White House, said the addition of Mr. Dershowitz and Mr. Starr brought impressive legal power to Mr. Trump’s team.
But he expressed concern that “there are no fire breathers,” as he put it. “It’s very conventional in its makeup and approach. But this is not playing on C-Span. The senators are not the jury; the American people are the jury. I strongly believe you need some of the fire breathers from the House, like Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows and Lee Zeldin.”
Mr. Trump initially wanted three of those congressmen, among his most stalwart House Republican allies, to be on the defense team, but Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader, rejected the idea. Other advisers to Mr. Trump also expressed concerns about having members of the House involved with a Senate trial.
The president has wanted media-savvy defenders who could play the same vocal role that Rudolph W. Giuliani, his personal lawyer, did during the Russia investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. Dershowitz has been a media figure for years and Mr. Starr was a contributor to Fox News until parting ways with the network because of his new role with Mr. Trump.
But neither appointment is without controversy, and Republicans on Friday voiced private reservations about both men.But neither appointment is without controversy, and Republicans on Friday voiced private reservations about both men.
Mr. Dershowitz has faced questions about his representation of Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender who committed suicide in a New York City jail in August. Mr. Dershowitz helped negotiate Mr. Epstein’s lenient sentence in 2008. He has also been accused of engaging in sex with an underage girl he met through Mr. Epstein; he has denied the claim.Mr. Dershowitz has faced questions about his representation of Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender who committed suicide in a New York City jail in August. Mr. Dershowitz helped negotiate Mr. Epstein’s lenient sentence in 2008. He has also been accused of engaging in sex with an underage girl he met through Mr. Epstein; he has denied the claim.
Mr. Starr, who helped Mr. Dershowitz on the Epstein defense in 2007, was forced from his job as president of Baylor University amid accusations he did not respond to allegations of sexual assault made by women against members of the school’s football team. Mr. Starr, who helped Mr. Dershowitz on the Epstein defense in 2007, was forced from his job as president of Baylor University in 2016 amid accusations he did not respond to allegations of sexual assault made by women against members of the school’s football team.
In 1999, after the Clinton impeachment, Mr. Trump told interviewers that Mr. Starr was a “wacko” and a “lunatic.” But more recently, he is said to have enjoyed watching him on television.
Mr. Starr declined to comment on Friday. Mr. Trump himself has previously questioned Mr. Starr’s zealous pursuit of Mr. Clinton. In 1999, after the House voted to impeach the president largely along party lines, Mr. Trump told interviewers that Mr. Starr was a “wacko” and a “lunatic.” But more recently, he is said to have enjoyed watching him on television.
Mr. Starr declined to comment on Friday. Mr. Trump faces two articles of impeachment alleging that he abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to announce investigations of his Democratic rivals and that he obstructed Congress by refusing to provide documents or permit testimony during the House inquiry.
During his television appearances, Mr. Starr has argued that the articles of impeachment passed by the House largely along party lines were “woefully inadequate” to justify removing a president from office. He has contrasted that with his investigation into Mr. Clinton, where the president was accused of felonies for trying to cover up his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky, a onetime White House intern, during a sexual harassment lawsuit.
In a brief telephone interview, Mr. Dershowitz said he expected his sole role to be arguing on behalf of Mr. Trump before the Senate next Friday, making points he had made in writing and on television.In a brief telephone interview, Mr. Dershowitz said he expected his sole role to be arguing on behalf of Mr. Trump before the Senate next Friday, making points he had made in writing and on television.
He said that he “worried about the precedent” set by the two articles of impeachment, which he described as “too vague and open-ended,” and absent “high crimes and misdemeanors.”He said that he “worried about the precedent” set by the two articles of impeachment, which he described as “too vague and open-ended,” and absent “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The statement announcing his appointment described Mr. Dershowitz as “nonpartisan when it comes to the Constitution,” having opposed the impeachment of Mr. Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton. The statement announcing his appointment described Mr. Dershowitz as “nonpartisan when it comes to the Constitution,” having opposed the impeachment of Mr. Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton. “He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent,” the statement said. Later in the day, after multiple news outlets reported his role, Mr. Dershowitz tried to downplay it, saying in some interviews that he was not technically joining the team, but was merely coming in to play a discrete role.
“He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent,” it said. Other lawyers will be joining Mr. Trump’s trial team, including Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who has been a spokeswoman for the defense effort, and Jane Serene Raskin, who defended Mr. Trump during Mr. Mueller’s investigation, officials said.
The return of Mr. Starr to the impeachment stage was a head-spinning development for many veterans of the battle two decades ago. Ms. Lewinsky expressed her disbelief on Twitter on Friday, writing, “this is definitely an ‘are you kidding me?’ kinda day” with an expletive before the word “kidding.”
Annie Karni and Peter Baker contributed reporting.