Dershowitz, Starr joining Trump’s legal team for impeachment trial

President Trump plans to add former independent counsel Ken Starr and defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz to his legal team for his trial by the Senate, a person briefed on the plan said Friday.

Starr, whose investigation into President Bill Clinton’s sexual relationships led to his impeachment, will be joined by Robert Ray, who succeeded Starr as independent counsel and wrote the final report on Clinton, the person said.

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.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and 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 Trump during the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller, officials said.

For weeks, 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 Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, objected.

The president has been concerned about having media-savvy defenders play the same vocal role that Rudy Giuliani did during the Mueller investigation. Dershowitz has been a media figure for years, and Starr was a contributor to Fox News until parting ways with it because of his new role with Trump.

But neither appointment is without controversy, and Republicans on Friday voiced private reservations about both men.

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