Constitutional law professor Alan Dershowitz distanced himself from President Trump’s defense team in an interview Friday afternoon after saying earlier in the day that he would be presenting arguments at the impeachment trial.
“I think it overstates it to say I’m a member of the Trump team,” Dershowitz, 81, said on The Dan Abrams Show. “I was asked to present the constitutional argument that I would have presented had Hillary Clinton been elected and had she been impeached.”
“I was asked to present my constitutional argument against impeachment,” he said. “I will be there for one hour, basically, presenting my argument. But I’m not a full-fledged member of the defense team in any realistic sense of that term.”
Dershowitz will be delivering part of the opening statement, making the argument that the two articles do not satisfy the grounds for impeachment. “I will not be involved in arguing the facts, nor will I be part of the defense team in the sense of strategy on the facts,” Dershowitz said on NPR’s All Things Considered. “My role is limited.”
Dershowitz played a role in the Clinton impeachment, where he testified and consulted with the defense. Coordination occurred in the Clinton impeachment, he said, akin to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s today with the White House. “The ideal situation is for the witnesses to all be called by the House and for the Senators to vote on the reports and the managers’ assessment, but things are different here,” he said on NPR.
“Let me be very clear about my role. I am not participating in strategic decisions with the defense team about issues like witnesses or factual issues. That’s not the role I was asked to perform, that’s not the role I’ve agreed to perform.”
Dershowitz said he raised the issue of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein with the White House legal team, who agreed it would not be a distraction.
Accused of raping an Epstein victim, he responds, “I’ve disproved it categorically.”
Dershowitz had issued a three-part statement on Twitter Friday morning announcing his role.
[Opinion: Trump choosing Alan Dershowitz for his defense is a public relations nightmare]
STATEMENT REGARDING PROFESSOR DERSHOWITZ’S ROLE IN THE SENATE TRIAL – Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal. (1of 2)
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) January 17, 2020
(2 of 3) 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.
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) January 17, 2020
(3of 3) He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent.
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) January 17, 2020
White House counsel Pat Cipollone, 53, will lead the president’s defense in the Senate starting next Tuesday, along with the president’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow, 63, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, 54, and longtime Trump counsel Jane Raskin. Trump’s legal team has also tapped former Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr and Starr’s successor Ray Roberts.
