‘This is not who you used to be’: CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin confronts Alan Dershowitz for ‘carrying water for Trump’

In a tense exchange on CNN Wednesday, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin cornered libertarian attorney Alan Dershowitz for lending credence to Donald Trump’s attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller.

Dershowitz told CNN’s Anderson Cooper “we should have appointed a bipartisan, nonpartisan commission” instead of a special counsel to investigate Russian collusion.

“Collusion is not a crime,” Dershowitz said. “Obstruction of justice may not be a crime … it was a mistake to appoint a special counsel.”

Toobin explained the appointment of a special counsel was “required” and “mandatory if we want to have a legal system that deserves any respect.”

“Alan, I don't know what is going on with you, but this is so obviously a conflict-of-interest and this was the only way to resolve it,” Toobin said, later asking Dershowitz if his “position is there should never be a special counsel ever for any case.”

“Almost never,” Dershowitz replied.

“How has this come about that in every situation over the past year you have been carrying water for Donald Trump?” Toobin demanded. “This is not who you used to be and you are doing this over and over again in situations that are just obviously ripe with conflict-of-interest and it's just, what’s happened with you?”

Watch the full exchange below: