...
By Rachel Dobkin
Weekend Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz said on Tuesday that he wants "everything put out" in court documents that are set to be unsealed this week containing the names of at least 175 former associate and victims of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein was someone who had friends in high places who, according to Dershowitz, had no idea about his "private life." In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors. He took his own life in jail a month later.
In 2021, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, was found guilty of trafficking underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Read More
Video of Jimmy Kimmel With Jeffrey Epstein’s Personal Chef Goes Viral4 min read
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein Relationship Timeline Amid Allegations4 min read
Everything Donald Trump Has Said About Jeffrey Epstein Relationship4 min read
One of Epstein's and Maxwell's victims, Virginia Giufrre, filed a defamation lawsuit against Maxwell. In connection with the lawsuit, a trove of documents is being released that may shed some more light on Epstein's private life and those he was associated with.
...
Speaking to NewsNation's Leland Vittert on Tuesday, Dershowitz said of the associates soon to be unmasked in the documents: "You could judge them for having shown bad judgment, but you can't conclude that any accusations against them are true without hearing the evidence. The reason I wanted everything put out, and I don't think the judge put everything out, I think she was selective in what she put out, and that's unfair.
"I want everything out, every document, every piece of paper, half-truths or lies, and I wanted them out for personal reasons because I know that they would prove what I've said from day one, that I did nothing wrong, and the woman who accused me later admitted that she may have misidentified me, confused me with someone else. So, I wanted everything out right from the beginning because I have nothing to hide."
He reiterated his stance on the documents' release to Newsweek via email: "I hope that every single document will be made public because I have nothing to hide."
Dershowitz was accused by Giuffre of being one of her abusers in a 2019 lawsuit, but she walked back her claims and dropped the lawsuit in November 2022.
"I have long believed that I was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to Alan Dershowitz," Giuffre said in a statement when she dropped the lawsuit. "However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment, and Mr. Dershowitz has from the beginning consistently denied these allegations.
"I now recognize I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz. This litigation has been very stressful and burdensome for me and my family, and we believe it is time to bring it to an end and move on with our lives."
Speaking about Epstein's social circle, Dershowitz told Vittert: "There are some people who may be ashamed of the fact that they hung out with Epstein, but remember, a lot of people hung out with Epstein before he was convicted. Presidents of Harvard, deans, Nobel-quality scientists, he was very well thought of in the beginning. None of us knew about his private life that he kept so secret."
Dershowitz helped Epstein get a plea deal in 2008 in which he pleaded guilty to one count of solicitating prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18, following an investigation by Florida police into his alleged sex crimes. The deal got Epstein an 18-month prison sentence and he spent most of his time in a work-release program.
"I'm proud of my role in defending any accused defendant under the 6th Amendment," Dershowitz told Newsweek when asked about the plea deal.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines