U.S. President Donald Trump has lined up his defence team for his upcoming impeachment trial.
CNN reported Friday morning that the White House had named three high-profile lawyers for the president's defence team. They are Ken Starr, a prosecutor and former solicitor general who is best known for leading the charge to impeach Bill Clinton in 1999; Robert Ray, who succeeded Starr at the Office of Independent Counsel; and defence lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
Starr had also served as the president of Baylor University but was fired after being accused of failing to respond to reports of rape and sexual assault filed by at least six female students from 2009 to 2016. Ray had submitted the final reports on the Monica Lewinsky affair, as well as the one on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of an attack in Libya that killed American soldiers. Dershowitz is a professor of law at Harvard University whose clients have included Mike Tyson, Claus von Bulow, O.J. Simpson, and most recently Harvey Weinstein.
These three lawyers will join White House counsel Pat Cipollone, outside lawyer Jay Sekulow, Trump's personal counsel Jane Raskin, and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Trump's defence team, according to CNN.
The impeachment trial began in essence on Thursday, when the articles of impeachment were officially delivered to the Senate chamber from the House and read aloud. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who will preside over the trial, officially swore-in the House members who will act as impeachment managers, or the "prosecution"; and the Senate, who will serve as the jury.
Trump is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. He is charged with withholding military aid for Ukraine on the condition that that country began an investigation into former Vice-President Joe Biden, a likely election opponent, and his son Hunter, who served on a company board in Ukraine. He is also accused of ordering his administration to ignore subpoenas issued by House committees during the impeachment inquiry. The president has denied any wrongdoing.
The trial will resume on Tuesday, with both sides having a chance to present their cases. A two-thirds majority of the Senate is needed to convict Trump and remove him from office.
