Celebrity lawyers to defend Donald Trump in impeachment trial

Reports about US President Donald Trump’s impeachment legal team have been greeted with shock and disbelief.

According to US media reports, a high-profile member of the team will be Ken Starr, the special prosecutor in the 1988 Bill Clinton impeachment.

On hearing the news, Monica Lewinsky, whose affair with Mr Clinton was exposed by Mr Starr, tweeted “this is definitely an ‘are you f***ing kidding me?’ kinda day”.

Mr Starr is a hero to many on the right, even if Clinton ultimately was acquitted in the Senate.

Joining him will be America’s most famous celebrity lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who said Friday he would be part of the legal team defending US President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial.

“Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal,” said a statement on his personal Twitter account.

“He believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution.”

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

He will be part of a team with serious firepower headed by the White House’s discreet but uncompromising counsel Pat Cipollone.

Mr Trump, a Republican, is accused of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on a Democratic election rival Joe Biden.

Mr Cipollone is behind the White House’s strategy of refusing to cooperate with Democratic investigators throughout the impeachment probe.

The White House has yet to announce the full team but confirms that Mr Cipollone will be the lead lawyer, backed by Mr Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow.
 

– with AFP