Summary: Well-known lawyer Alan Dershowitz claims he is innocent and a victim of an extortion conspiracy.
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz is fighting back against claims that he was involved in a prostitution ring that involved the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Dershowitz says that the claims are fabricated despite them appearing in a U.S. court document.
The claims surfaced when Epstein struck a deal with U.S. prosecutors. Epstein is a U.S. financier and a former client of Dershowitz.
In 2008, Epstein pled guilty to a state felony charge of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor. He served almost 13 months in prison and was released in 2009.
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Dershowitz is a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and is one of the biggest names in U.S. law. Dershowitz helped negotiate the agreement with the government, which helped Epstein avoid federal prosecution.
A separate civil lawsuit claims that prosecutors violated the rights of Epstein’s victims when they agreed to a deal with him without their opinion.
The claims made against Dershowitz first appeared in a motion filed on December 30 by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs asked the court to permit two more victims, identified as Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #4, to join the lawsuit.
Bradley J. Edwards, a Florida attorney, filed the motion with co-counsel Paul Cassell, who is a University of Utah criminal law professor and former federal judge.
The motion says the following:
“Epstein required Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on numerous occasions while she was a minor, not only in Florida but also on private planes, in New York, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
The motion also claims that the deal Dershowitz negotiated “provided protection for himself against criminal prosecution.”
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Prince Andrew is accused of similar sexual allegations in the same court document. Prince Andrew is the younger brother of Prince Charles and son of Queen Elizabeth II.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dershowitz said, “It’s a completely, totally fabricated, made-up story. I have never had sex with an underage woman. They made up this story out of whole cloth. I’m an innocent victim of an extortion conspiracy.”
Dershowitz said that he will deny the claims using a sworn affidavit, “subjecting me to criminal prosecution if I’m lying. I’m prepared to put my liberty and my reputation at risk by swearing under oath that it didn’t happen.”
Dershowitz said he knew Epstein socially, but claims the two were not friends.
“I was never alone with Jeffrey Epstein in the company of any young women. I can tell you that unequivocally,” he said.
Dershowitz made it known that he will sue for defamation if the accusations were repeated by lawyers outside of court proceedings.
On Friday, Cassell issued a statement that said,
“We have been informed of Mr. Dershowitz’s threats based on the factual allegations we have made in our recent filing. We carefully investigate all of the allegations in our pleadings before presenting them,” he said.
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