Latest news with #Dershowitz
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alan Dershowitz: We're picking the wrong heroes
(NewsNation) — In recent months, the Trump administration has gone up against Harvard University and other Ivy League schools over on-campus protests and policies. The White House has recently frozen visa interviews with international student visa holders and has threatened to revoke the visas of Chinese students. Interviews were frozen because the agency wanted to expand social media screening and vetting. President Donald Trump said the move would determine whether foreign students being let into the country were 'troublemakers' and that he wants to ensure admitted students are those who 'love our country.' Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow gutting of Education Department Attorney Alan Dershowitz told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas that a lot of politicians and progressives who have stood behind the campus protesters have egg on their face, and that it was a bad look to support them. 'We are picking our wrong heroes,' Dershowitz said. Dershowitz added the Trump administration's measure of revoking student visas and canceling visa interviews is a good preventive measure in ensuring the safety of U.S. citizens. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
04-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz publishes his ‘magnum opus' — but fears people won't read it for this reason
Alan Dershowitz calls his new book his 'magnum opus.' It's the culmination of the legendary legal mind's 60-year career — and he's written nearly that many books. But though he's had multiple bestsellers, including one atop The New York Times list, America's most famous lawyer worries people won't read this tome. Blame Donald Trump — it's a popular pastime these days. Remember the 2002 Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller 'Minority Report'? 'The Preventive State: The Challenge of Preventing Serious Harms While Preserving Essential Liberties' is the new book version, its author tells The Post in an exclusive interview. Advertisement Walking into his Manhattan apartment and seeing a framed Benjamin Franklin letter on the wall, one immediately recalls the founder's famous line: 'Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.' 'That's the theme of my book,' Dershowitz says. 'There's no free lunch, and every time we act to prevent great harms, we take away a little liberty. There's no doubt about that. There's always going to be a trade-off. And the key is to make the trade-off based on principles. And it's OK, as I say in the book, to give up a little inessential liberty to gain a lot of security but not to give up basic liberties to gain a small amount of security. We do too much of the latter and not enough of the former. And so what I've tried to do is create a jurisprudence which weighs when it's proper and when it's not proper to take preventive actions and erring always on the side of liberty rather than security but giving weight to security.' It's a colossal and contentious topic. 'I have been writing and teaching about 'the preventive state' (a phrase I coined during my teaching in the 1960s) over my entire career,' Dershowitz writes. Advertisement 'So finally, after all these years, at 86 I decided to put it all together into one book,' he tells The Post. That's after challenging others to do it at the end of a 2008 book. 'I wasn't ready. I didn't have the answer. I had the problem, but I didn't have the solution,' he explains. 'I really had to have the time to work through, and I finally created a jurisprudence. Now I've figured out how to solve these problems.' And these problems constantly arise. 'Why do we deport people? To prevent them from committing crimes. Why are we thinking about bombing Iran? To prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon. Why did we require people to wear masks and be inoculated during COVID? To prevent it from spreading. Why do we lock people up pending trial? To prevent them from fleeing or committing crimes. So prevention runs through our legal system, but there's no systematic attempt to either define it or create a jurisprudence. That's what I've done.' Advertisement It's the career capstone of the man who at 28 became the youngest-ever Harvard law professor granted tenure. 'I'm hoping this book will have an impact on legislators, on courts. It's the most important book I've ever written. It'll be probably the least recognized because of the cancellation issue. But if I'm going to be remembered 50 years from now, it's going to be because of this book,' he says. 'I was the first academic to basically discover prevention and start writing about it, 60 years ago, and now I'm the first academic to write a major whole book on this.' That's a bold statement from someone whose work has created a seemingly unceasing supply of memorable moments. His bestselling 1985 book 'Reversal of Fortune' was turned into a 1990 film that earned Jeremy Irons an Oscar for his portrayal of Dershowitz's client Claus von Bülow, who was acquitted on appeal of attempting to murder his wife, Sunny, played by Glenn Close. Dersh approves Ron Silver's portrayal of him — mostly. 'He was very, very, very good. The only thing I objected to is as a kid, I was a really, really good basketball player. I played Madison Square Garden. I guarded Ralphie Lifshitz, who became Ralph Lauren.' Silver's dribbles were dreadful. Advertisement Of course, a place in Hollywood history doesn't exempt one from cancel culture. Dershowitz himself brings it up. 'I've written 57 books. The vast majority of them were reviewed by The New York Times. I had seven New York Times bestsellers. One a front-page number-one bestseller, 'Chutzpah.' Since I defended Donald Trump, The New York Times will not review my books,' he says. 'They will not review this book.' A lifelong Democrat until last year's party convention featured Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders 'and all those rabid antisemites,' Dershowitz supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 — but joined Trump's legal team in January 2020, defending the president in his first impeachment trial, without payment. The Gray Lady isn't the only institution that's canceled him. The historic Temple Emanu-El has too, despite Dershowitz's prolific work supporting Israel and Jews. The 92nd Street Y 'won't allow me to speak, even though I used to draw the biggest crowds,' he says. 'If you've defended Trump, you can't speak. You can't be part of the mainstream.' It's even gotten personal. 'I used to have a good relationship with Chuck Schumer. He doesn't in any way talk to me anymore. He used to confer with me about cases,' he reveals. 'My former students, people like Jamie Raskin, they used to always confer with me, but not since I defended Donald Trump. Martha's Vineyard, people stopped talking to me. Wouldn't allow me to speak in the library. Wouldn't allow me to speak at the Jewish center. The synagogue in Martha's Vineyard wouldn't allow me to speak there about Israel or anything else. So what do you think we did? We fought back. We founded our own synagogue on Martha's Vineyard' — 'which now has more people going than the synagogue that banned me.' He continues, 'Barack Obama invited me to the White House, invited me to the Oval Office, invited me on Martha's Vineyard. Well, now he won't.' Personal friends like comedian Larry David also quit speaking to him after the Trump defense. Is he certain it's all about the liberal bête noire now occupying the Oval Office? Dershowitz worked on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein's first criminal case over victimizing underage girls — and one, Virginia Giuffre, claimed the lawyer abused her. She eventually walked back that claim, which he wrote about in The Post. 'It all started before Jeffrey Epstein. It started with Trump. And the Jeffrey Epstein thing, when it happened, never had any effect on me, on Martha's Vineyard, especially now that I've been, of course, exonerated,' he says. Advertisement Dershowitz's banishment for defending a president from impeachment comes after a lifetime of defending unpopular clients — including accused murderers. 'O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bülow, Leona Helmsley, you name it. I defended Nazis marching through Skokie,' he says. 'And that's never been a problem. I defended Bill Clinton. I defended Ted Kennedy for driving a car off the bridge, and nobody objected to that. And that was the Vineyard. That was the first time I ever set foot on Martha's Vineyard. I'll tell you a wonderful story about that.' He was seated next to Ted's niece Caroline at a dinner party a few years ago. 'Caroline Kennedy looks at me when I sit down and says, 'I'm polite, so I'm not going to get up and leave, but if I knew that you had been invited, I never would have come to this dinner party. This was right after I defended Trump. So I said to her, 'Is this because I defended Trump?' She said, 'Absolutely.' I said, 'But I defended Ted Kennedy, your uncle. Did you object to that?' And she walked away,' he recalls. 'I've had 18 murder cases, and I've won 15 of the 18 murder cases. Not all of them have been innocent, I can tell you that right now, not all of them have been innocent. And nobody objected. It was only Donald.' Yet Dershowitz's influence cannot be denied — besides the signal lawsuits, his students have been making their own history in powerful positions, from NYPD commissioner (Jessica Tisch) to secretary of state (Mike Pompeo). Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan would sit next to CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin in Cambridge. 'They flirted with each other all the time,' Dersh reveals. 'They were too cute with each other in class.' Advertisement The Harvard professor emeritus says, 'I love teaching, but when I turned 75 I decided I want a new career. I figured at that time I have 10 good years left — it's been 11 so far — I wanted to do something different. And so I am.' What is that new career? 'Provocateur. I love that word,' he immediately responds. He adds he's a 'meritocratic egalitarian, constitutional libertarian and constructive contrarian' — and even a 'classical liberal.' His insights in 'The Preventive State' aren't limited to law; the book is filled with economics, philosophy and politics too — just like his apartment. He has an early copy Congress made of the Declaration of Independence, with all the original signers and letters by Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, John Stuart Mill and many others. Advertisement 'This is my most valuable letter. It's signed by George Washington. It's written to the troops in the middle of the Revolutionary War. But the text was not written by George Washington. It was written by his obscure secretary named Alexander Hamilton,' he chuckles. 'It talks about how all soldiers have to get inoculated against smallpox.' America has been a preventive state since the beginning. 'Just good stuff,' the genial writer concludes after proudly showing part of his collection. 'It inspires me every day.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New College picked wrong guy for commencement speaker. Here are 5 better options.
I've written before that New College of Florida and its president, Richard Corcoran, have done some pretty smart things since the college's dramatic, controversial transformation to a conservative-oriented school in January 2023. So why are New College and Corcoran continuing to do one thing that's just pretty dumb? Why are they continuing to allow New College's name to be associated with figures who are generating some horrible optics for the school right now? I mean, who can forget the fiasco of New College recently inviting Russell Brand – the controversial British comedian and actor – to be a speaker while Brand had a cloud of sexual assault allegations hovering over him? You know, the invitation New College only postponed after Brand was formally charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault – mere days before his April appearance? Why did it take current events to stir New College to act when common sense should have done so? And who can ignore the ongoing mess regarding New College's hiring of former official Frederick Piccolo Jr., who has been arrested several times on charges of indecent exposure? What kind of vetting system enabled Piccolo to even work at New College? All of which raises yet another head-scratching question: What in the world possessed New College to pick prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who represented the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein – a convicted sex offender who was facing numerous charges for sex-trafficking minors when he died in his jail cell in 2019 – to deliver the school's May 23 commencement address? Seriously, who's running the Office of Self-Awareness at New College these days? And if New College doesn't have that office, shouldn't it use what it was paying Piccolo to create it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. It's true that Dershowitz is – as New College declared in announcing him as the commencement speaker – 'one of the nation's most influential legal scholars and defenders of civil liberties.' It's true that Dershowitz is – as New College also proclaimed – 'a constitutional lawyer, Harvard Law professor emeritus and best-selling author' who has 'played a pivotal role in some of the most significant legal debates of our time.' It's true that our Constitution protects the right of every individual, regardless of how reviled they are, to have legal representation. And, yes, it's true that many other lawyers besides Dershowitz represented Epstein over the years. But does New College really need a commencement speaker right now whose name can be mentioned, fairly or not, in the same sentence with 'Jeffrey Epstein'? Who is Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire charged with sex trafficking girls as young as 14? What's next? An honorary fellowship for Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul whose sordid actions launched the second wave of the #MeToo movement – and who Dershowitz also helped to represent at one point? Nah, not the best look at the moment. I know what you're thinking: 'OK, smart guy, so who should have been the commencement speaker?' Glad you asked! Here is my 'Top 5 People New College Should Have Picked as Commencement Speaker Instead of Alan Dershowitz' list: No, the governor is not the most dynamic speaker. And you'd have worry about DeSantis yelling at the New College graduates, like he did those high school kids who dared to wear masks – amid a raging COVID pandemic – while standing next to him. But, really, isn't DeSantis the daddy of the 'new' New College? Isn't his name all over this birth certificate? The school should have given "Big Daddy D" a chance to proudly gaze upon his offspring while giving the commencement speech. Rufo could provide students with an inspiring tale about successfully pursuing your passion in life. After all, Rufo's passion appears to be obsessively, well, obsessing about race and gender – and boy, oh, boy, has he turned it into his own personal, successful industry. Besides, it would be hilarious to see the TikTok mashups of every time Rufo uttered the word "woke" during his commencement speech. He'd end up sounding like a bawking chicken in those videos. Yes, some elements of Meyer's coaching career are as oily as a mechanic's hands in a lube change shop. And Meyer tried to ruin my NFL team – the Jacksonville Jaguars – during his brief time as head coach. But the guy does own championship rings and he does live in Sarasota – and he would have been a fitting commencement speaker given New College's 'all in' approach to sports these days. Ono, who just bolted the presidency at the University of Michigan – and is the sole candidate for the UF job – could provide students with a cautionary tale on sacrificing your dignity to get a gig. Ono's abrupt reversal on the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion – which he once supported but now opposes in groveling fashion – is downright pathetic. And for what? Just for the privilege of doing that silly 'Gator Chomp'? Ugh. Opinion: 12 reasons why I hate college football. Yes, the Gator Chomp is one of them. Hey, Corcoran will be at the May 23 ceremony anyway – and he'll already be wearing suitable commencement regalia, right? Why not him? Yes, I know: I'm totally guilty of presenting compelling evidence after the fact. But one thing's for sure: In the court of good judgment, New College deserves a "thumbs down" verdict for picking Alan Dershowitz as its commencement speaker. Opinion Editor Roger Brown can be reached at He's on X (formerly Twitter) at RBrown_HTOpin. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New College errs with Dershowitz as graduation speaker | Opinion
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Alan Dershowitz wins appeal to overturn sanctions over Arizona election lawsuit
March 14 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday overturned a judge's sanction against retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz over his work on a lawsuit by failed Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Dershowitz and two other lawyers were fined $122,200 in 2023 for advancing frivolous claims in the unsuccessful case, which challenged the use of electronic voting machines in Arizona's 2022 midterm elections. Dershowitz had argued that he played only a nominal part in Lake's lawsuit in an "of counsel" role. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held for the first time in Friday's 2-1 decision, opens new tab that "of counsel" lawyers can be sanctioned for signing court pleadings that are frivolous and lack factual basis. But the court said it would not apply that standard retroactively to Dershowitz. Dershowitz, a prominent legal scholar who helped defend football star O.J. Simpson against murder charges and represented U.S. President Donald Trump in his 2020 impeachment trial, said in his appeal that he performed only about three hours of work on the lawsuit brought by Lake and former Arizona state representative Mark Finchem. While the panel reversed Dershowitz's sanction, it rejected his arguments that he did not play a significant role in the case. "Indeed, when a widely known and respected lawyer in Dershowitz's position signs onto a pleading, it can have an impact on the decision-maker and that means counsel's attestation is all the more important," the opinion said. "Dershowitz could have easily discovered the faults in plaintiffs' pleadings if he had conducted any investigation at all." Dershowitz lawyer Dennis Wilenchik said he was "OK" with the decision, adding that he disagreed with some of the reasoning. He said Dershowitz did nothing wrong and was "completely vindicated." U.S. District Judge John Tuchi in Phoenix sanctioned Dershowitz in 2023 alongside the rest of Lake and Finchem's legal team, Andrew Parker of Parker Daniels Kibort and Kurt Olsen of the Olsen Law Firm. Tuchi said Dershowitz was only responsible for 10% of the $122,200 sanction. The 9th Circuit panel on Friday upheld the sanctions order against Parker and Olsen in a separate 2-1 ruling, opens new tab. Lake, a former television news anchor, and Finchem sued former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and officials in Maricopa and Pima counties in April 2022, in a bid to change the state and counties' voting procedures. Lake and Finchem had claimed that the electronic voting machines were "untested and verified" and could not be trusted. Tuchi dismissed Lake's lawsuit in August 2022. The Maricopa County officials named as defendants sought sanctions against Lake for trying to sow doubts about the then-upcoming 2022 elections. Lake, a Republican, lost the governor's race to Democrat Hobbs. Emily Craiger, an attorney for the Maricopa County officials, declined to comment on Friday. The case is Kari Lake, et al., v. Bill Gates, et al., 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-16023.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on political satire, Elon's emails and cop connections
Scarsdale, N.Y.: To Alan Dershowitz ('50 years of 'SNL' is just not funny,' op-ed, Feb. 20): NYC is full of park benches with elderly men baying at the moon, usually one accompanied by others looking away. More often, a singular figure ignored by folks passing by shaking their heads, hereafter referred to as the neighborhood 'Dershowitz.' Your take that 'Saturday Night Live' 'was never funny' is about as irrelevant as most of your legal opinions over the past 40 years. As an older man myself, you sound like everything we elders don't want to be: loud and obnoxious. What you might not have realized in your neighborhood that had a Buddy, a Jackie and a Woody is that you were the 'Dershowitz.' Lorne Michaels took what was impossible and made it a necessary and vibrant part of our culture in a time slot formerly reserved for infomercials. Try that on for size, Funny D. And he did that while you were getting O.J. Simpson off the hook. Talk about not funny. Michaels has roasted both sides of the political spectrum and everything in between. I wouldn't call you 'old-fashioned' or 'nostalgic.' I would call it angry, bitter and irrelevant. Jackie Gleason had a silent character called 'The Poor Soul.' He was sad and funny. Your cheap shot at 'SNL' and Michaels is neither. You are the neighborhood Dershowitz on the bench, alone. You mentioned George Carlin as one of your funny people — you know, the man who hosted the very first 'SNL.' Take comfort, Alan, that it's me writing this reply and not Carlin. He would have roasted you alive comedically, like an 'SNL' opening monologue. Paul Christie Charlotte, N.C.: It's absurd how Republicans are so offended by a comedy skit on 'Saturday Night Live.' What they are really missing is the comedy of the clown in the White House. Donald Trump always wears that stupid hat when he's outside so the wind won't disturb his ridiculous comb-over. He wears those way-out-of-fashion long suit coats to hide his big, fat butt. All he needs is the addition of a big red nose to that orange makeup and he becomes Bozo the Clown. Now that's funny! Ron Turek Schenectady, N.Y.: That excellent editorial on Tuesday ('America's shame at the UN,' Feb. 25) should have been the first page of your paper. Within the next week, make it your cover page. Diane Sanders Hombach Brooklyn: To our dear orange leader: So it's OK for states to completely decide on abortion rights, but it's not OK for states to decide on congestion pricing? I know you're spending a lot of time trying to annex Canada and Greenland instead of dealing with inflation and health care, but maybe you should rethink your stance. Carol Katz Roosevelt, L.I.: With many long-standing businesses closing their doors left and right, long-time employees losing their jobs and the price of eggs and other foods rising higher and higher every day across the landscape of America, Trump's racist, classist and sexist war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is ignorant, foolish and not good for business in America. Wake up, America! DEI is an asset to America, not a liability! Arthur L. Mackey Jr. Park Ridge, N.J.: Regarding the emails Elon Musk is sending to government employees ordering them to list five things they accomplished last week, I think they should all write back, 'My job!' I agree that the federal government has become a giant, bloated mess, but to have some bully of a hired gun indiscriminately slash the work force with no regard for the lives and financial circumstances of the people he's firing is wrong. Maybe billionaires who want for nothing and have no idea what it's like to have to budget your money (at best) or to have to live paycheck-to-paycheck (at worst) shouldn't be the ones deciding who goes and who stays. Steve Ostlund Woodland Park, N.J.: Trump said that federal employees may be semi-fired if they do not respond to Musk's email. What is semi-fired? Is it a little like being semi-pregnant? John Dent Edgewater, N.J.: It has been reported that the president, who is very concerned about federal employees not being at their desks consistently, has found time to play golf on nine of his first 30 days of federal reemployment, for which taxpayers were charged in excess of $10 million. What has not been reported is whether this is a post-DOGE figure and how much we saved as a result, or whether this is a pre-DOGE figure and how much money we can be expected to save over the next 30 days. Jay K. Egelberg Danbury, Conn.: Dear Elon, here is the requested list of important things I've done this week to justify my staying in the White House: 1) Played 18 holes of golf in Florida on the taxpayer's dime. 2) Watched late news and posted on Truth Social at 3:35 a.m. while eating a bucket of KFC and having a Diet Coke. 3) Had my UN rep side with the Russians and against all our allies and vote no on telling Putin to get the hell out of Ukraine (it's all Zelenskyy's fault they got invaded, right?). 4) Played another 18 holes of golf. 5) Answered your DOGE email because no one on my staff wrote any executive orders to sign (you know I love signing them as soon as someone tells me what it is). I hope this covers everything you need. Go get 'em, tiger. Get crazy. Get vicious. Love the chainsaw. XOXO, Donnie. Michael Eddy Chicago: While surfing the internet as I often do, I discovered a feature describing little-known facts of history. For example, did you know that Cleopatra wasn't merely an exotic temptress who seduced Roman luminaries for political gain? Or that Genghis Khan, rather than being the barbarian pictured in movies, was actually an enlightened leader who brought peace and prosperity to his far-flung Asian empire? I can't help wondering if the list might one day include Trump, who besides being a lackluster politician with few social skills was also a failed businessman who declared bankruptcy six times. I can only envision readers of the future shaking their heads in amazement and wondering what else they don't know about the strangely orange individual with the bird nest coiffure. Bob Ory Woodside: Again, it's great that the Daily News is doing the 'On Broadway' listing, especially since you have stopped most, if not all, arts coverage. But of the 24 shows listed on Feb. 21, six have long since closed. I presume that drama critic Chris Jones does not do this column himself, but someone there really needs to keep up with the changes at the Broadway houses. In other words, if you are going to do this, please do it correctly, as would be expected of a quality newspaper. Tom Rice Manhattan: Re 'Two cops probed after arrest of ex-detective's son' (Feb. 25): The average New Yorker with no NYPD connections who gets yanked from their car by cops and pummeled is on their own. But if your daddy is a retired NYPD detective with connections, the 'good ol' boy' system gets results in one day: 'Thomas' father, retired first-grade NYPD Detective Harold Thomas, texted the video of the arrest to Mayor Adams, former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, and other high-ranking NYPD officers within hours of his son's arrest. The next day, the Internal Affairs Bureau put the two cops on modified assignment.' Ex-detective Thomas wrote: 'I sent the video to Maddrey and all of the guys.' Thank you, Daily News, for printing how the NYPD good ol' boy system works. Leonard Marshall Glendale: Voicer Glenn O'Sullivan obviously doesn't understand the difference between tolls on the Garden State Parkway/New Jersey Turnpike and congestion pricing. Glenn, the tolls you are referring to more or less go to the upkeep of the roads used by cars. Paying for something you use makes sense to me. The congestion pricing tolls paid by motorists are not going toward roads. The money is going toward subways and buses that the payer is not using. It's simple and unjust! Thomas Murawski
