Alan Dershowitz: I'm not a defender of Donald Trump, I'm a defender of civil liberties and due process

Famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz on Sunday wouldn't say whether he had been asked to join President Trump's legal team, adding as a Democrat his only concern was whether Trump's civil liberties and due process rights were being infringed by special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

"I do not want to be his lawyer, I don't want to give him legal advice," Dershowitz said during an interview on CNN's "Reliable Sources."

Dershowitz, who dined at the White House on Tuesday as part of a prearranged meeting to discuss Middle East politics, described Trump as "pretty upbeat" during their conversation.

"At the dinner they basically threw me out when they wanted to talk about confidences," he continued. "I am not a supporter, I am not a defender of Donald Trump the person, I'm a defender of civil liberties and basic due process."

But Dershowitz recommended Trump's legal counsel focus on the state case against Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen in New York rather than Mueller's federal investigation.

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