CNN's Jeffrey Toobin sadly chastises former mentor Alan Dershowitz for cozying up to Trump on Russia

Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin sparred with Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz in a Wednesday night Anderson Cooper 360 appearance, expressing disappointment in his former professor's views on Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

President Trump recently extolled Dershowitz's views on Twitter, sharing a paraphrased quote from a recent op-ed by the professor that opposed the decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Dershowitz defended his position Wednesday, arguing that the investigation should have been handled by a bipartisan "commission" or Justice Department officials.

Toobin appeared aghast at his former mentor's words — and immediately expressed as much. "I don't know what's going on with you," he said. When Dershowitz claimed that Mueller was obligated to "find crimes" rather than simply investigate the situation, the tension escalated.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"How has this come about that in every situation over the past year you have been carrying water for Donald Trump?" said Toobin. "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, like, what's happened to you?"

Dershowitz disagreed that his views were simply supportive of Trump. "I have attacked President Trump for many, many things," he said. "I'm not carrying his water. I'm saying exactly the same thing I've said for 50 years. And, Jeffrey, you ought to know that. You were my student. I have never deviated from this. I have never deviated from this point. The fact that it applies to Trump now, rather than applying to Bill Clinton, is why people like you have turned against me."

Watch the debate below, via CNN. Summer Meza