President Donald Trump turned to some legal heavyweights to help defend him in his Senate impeachment trial with the addition on Friday of former independent counsel Ken Starr, who paved the way for former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment, and prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
The trial in the Republican-led Senate formally got underway on Thursday, though it will start in earnest on Tuesday with opening statements. The trial will determine whether Trump is removed from office. In 2016, Starr was ousted as president of Baylor University, a private Baptist institution in Texas, after an investigation by an outside law firm determined that university leaders had mishandled accusations of sexual assault by football players. Critics of Starr at the time accused him of turning a blind eye to sexual violence on his campus after pursuing Clinton for a sexual relationship.
A statement provided by Dershowitz from Trump’s legal team said he will present oral arguments at the trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal from office. Democrat Adam Schiff heads a team of seven House members who will serve as prosecutors. Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles.