Alan Dershowitz, arguably the most famous—and maybe infamous—law professor in the land, wants to set the record straight. When he heard that I was writing about his relationship with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and the related allegation that Dershowitz engaged in sex with a minor, he tracked me down to tell his side of the story.
The backdrop: Dershowitz was part of a legal team that had negotiated a plea deal in 2008 in which Epstein pleaded guilty to felony charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein served 13 months in prison but was spared federal charges under the deal. Last December, lawyers Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell filed suit against the U.S. government, arguing that the plea deal violated the rights of Epstein’s alleged sex victims; the suit also alleges that Dershowitz had sex with one of the victims when she was under age. Dershowitz has denied all the allegations, and Edwards and Cassell have filed a defamation suit against Dershowitz for calling them liars.
