Most Talked-About Controversies Linked to Alan Dershowitz

A closer look at the most debated and controversial moments involving Alan Dershowitz.

Alan Dershowitz is an American lawyer and law professor, most notably at Harvard Law School from 1964 to 2013, becoming the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law in 1993. He is known for his expertise in U.S. constitutional and criminal law. Dershowitz is a frequent media commentator, political analyst, and legal expert, often involved in high-profile cases and expressing his views on a range of legal and political topics.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

August 1989: Glemp Speech

In August 1989, Cardinal Józef Glemp gave a speech referencing an incident at Auschwitz and making antisemitic remarks, which led to Dershowitz filing a defamation suit.

March 2002: Published "New Response to Palestinian Terrorism"

In March 2002, Alan Dershowitz published an article in The Jerusalem Post titled "New Response to Palestinian Terrorism," proposing that Israel announce a unilateral cessation in retaliation, followed by a clear declaration of actions to be taken in response to future acts of terrorism, such as destroying a village used as a base for terrorist operations. This proposal drew criticism for potentially violating international law and being morally comparable to Nazi actions.

2002: Petition and Debate at Harvard

In the spring of 2002, after a petition calling for Harvard and MIT to divest from Israeli and American companies that sell arms to Israel garnered over 600 signatures, Dershowitz staged a debate for 200 students, calling the signatories antisemitic bigots and criticizing Harvard's Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson. He also threatened to sue professors opposing tenure based on candidates' positions on Israel.

2003: Plagiarism Allegations Regarding 'The Case for Israel'

Shortly after the publication of Alan Dershowitz's book 'The Case for Israel' in 2003, Norman Finkelstein accused it of containing material plagiarized from Joan Peters' book 'From Time Immemorial'. Dershowitz denied the allegation, and Harvard's president determined that no plagiarism had occurred, though Los Angeles attorney Frank Menetrez supported Finkelstein's charges.

January 2005: Khamenei urged Iranian Military to have Nuclear Bombs

In January 2005, according to Dershowitz's 2015 book, The Case Against the Iran Deal, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, had urged the Iranian military "to have two nuclear bombs ready to go off or you're not Muslims".

2005: Obama Meeting with Louis Farrakhan

In 2005, Barack Obama met with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting, a photo of which later caused Alan Dershowitz to regret campaigning for Obama in 2018.

March 2006: Response to "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy"

In March 2006, after John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt published "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", Alan Dershowitz criticized the paper, calling its authors "liars" and "bigots". He suggested the paper had been derived from hate sites.

May 2006: Mearsheimer and Walt Denied Using Racist Sources

In May 2006, Mearsheimer and Walt denied that they had used any racist sources for their article "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", writing that Dershowitz had failed to offer any evidence to support his claim.

July 2006: Defended IDF Conduct During Israel-Lebanon Conflict

In July 2006, Alan Dershowitz wrote a series of articles defending the Israel Defense Forces' conduct during the 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict. He criticized UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour for suggesting that Israeli officials might be investigated for war crimes, and argued that Israel was not to blame for civilian deaths.

October 2006: Lobbied Against Finkelstein's Tenure

In October 2006, Alan Dershowitz wrote to DePaul University faculty members to lobby against Norman Finkelstein's application for tenure, accusing Finkelstein of academic dishonesty.

2006: Argued for Prosecution of Iranian President

In 2006, Alan Dershowitz argued for the prosecution of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad for incitement to genocide based on his threat of "wiping Israel off the map".

2006: Negotiated non-prosecution agreement for Jeffrey Epstein

In 2006, Alan Dershowitz helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement on Jeffrey Epstein's behalf.

2006: Publication of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

In 2006, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter published his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. In it, he argues that Israel's control of Palestinian land is the primary obstacle to peace.

January 2007: Responded to Jimmy Carter

In January 2007, Alan Dershowitz was invited to respond to Jimmy Carter's address at Brandeis University on the same stage only after Carter had left.

June 2007: Finkelstein Denied Tenure

In June 2007, DePaul University denied Norman Finkelstein tenure.

June 30, 2008: Epstein sentenced

On June 30, 2008, after Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to a state charge of procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

2008: Giuffre's affidavit included in lawsuit against Justice Department

In 2008, Virginia Giuffre's affidavit was included in a lawsuit filed on behalf of women who claimed they were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit accused the Justice Department of violating the Crime Victims Rights Act by entering into a plea agreement with Epstein.

2008: Lawsuit seeking to reopen Epstein's case

In 2008, a lawsuit sought to reopen Epstein's case. The allegations against Dershowitz were removed from the record in April 2015 as having no bearing on the 2008 lawsuit.

February 29, 2012: Amicus Brief Filed in Support of MEK

On February 29, 2012, Alan Dershowitz filed an amicus brief in support of delisting the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) from the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations.

December 30, 2014: Giuffre alleges sexual trafficking by Epstein and Dershowitz

On December 30, 2014, in a Florida court filing, Virginia Giuffre alleged that she was sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, who lent her to people for sex, including Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew. The motion claimed that Dershowitz was also an eyewitness to the sexual abuse of other minors.

January 2015: Dershowitz denies allegations and seeks disbarment

In the week after the release of Giuffre's affidavit in January 2015, Dershowitz denied the allegations of sexual misconduct and sought the disbarment of the lawyers filing the suit. During that same week in January 2015, Giuffre's lawyers sued Dershowitz for defamation.

April 2015: Allegations against Dershowitz removed from record

By early April 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra had the allegations against Dershowitz and Prince Andrew removed from the record as having no bearing on the 2008 lawsuit seeking to reopen Epstein's case.

2015: Involvement in defamation lawsuits

Beginning in 2015, Alan Dershowitz became embroiled in a series of defamation lawsuits and countersuits stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct.

April 2016: Settlement of countersuit

By April 2016, Dershowitz and Giuffre's lawyers settled Dershowitz's countersuit for an undisclosed sum.

2016: Commented on Russian Meddling in Election

In January 2018, Alan Dershowitz claimed that "collusion" in reference to Russian meddling in the 2016 election is not a crime.

January 2018: Commented on Trump Investigations

In January 2018, Alan Dershowitz said that attacking Trump's mental fitness was "very dangerous" and that there was "no case" that Trump committed obstruction of justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey. He also called the indictment of Michael Flynn the strangest he had ever seen and claimed that "collusion" in reference to Russian meddling in the 2016 election is not a crime.

January 2018: Questioned claims about Qatar funding terrorists

In January 2018, Alan Dershowitz, who had a contract to provide advice to a lobbyist working for the Qatari government, questioned claims that Qatar funds terrorist groups.

June 2018: Criticized ACLU

In June 2018, Alan Dershowitz wrote an op-ed criticizing the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging it had become a hyper-partisan organization. He also criticized Trump, writing that by denying fundamental civil liberties, he was also to blame for pushing the ACLU further into partisan politics.

2018: Expressed Regret Over Obama Support

In 2018, after a photo with Obama and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan at a 2005 meeting emerged, Alan Dershowitz said he would not have campaigned for Obama had the photo been publicized sooner.

February 2019: Ruling on Crime Victims Rights Act violation

In February 2019, Judge Marra ruled that prosecutors had violated the Crime Victims Rights Act.

April 2019: Giuffre files defamation lawsuit against Dershowitz

In April 2019, Virginia Giuffre filed a defamation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Alan Dershowitz, alleging he had made "false and malicious defamatory statements" about her, such as accusing her of perjury. The lawsuit sought punitive damages and repeated previous claims that Epstein sex-trafficked Giuffre to Dershowitz.

June 2019: Motions filed in Giuffre's lawsuit

In June 2019, Alan Dershowitz filed a motion to dismiss Giuffre's suit (which was later denied) and a motion to disqualify David Boies's firm from representing her (which was later approved).

November 2019: Dershowitz files countersuit and Boies sues Dershowitz

In November 2019, Alan Dershowitz filed a countersuit against Giuffre and accused Boies of pressuring Giuffre to provide false testimony, in response to which Boies sued Dershowitz in November 2019 for defamation. In this November 2019 lawsuit, Dershowitz alleged that Giuffre falsely labeled him as a child rapist and molester.

2019: Litigation between Giuffre and Dershowitz

In 2019, litigation was filed by Giuffre and Dershowitz against each other for defamation in federal court in New York.

January 2020: Joined Trump's Impeachment Defense Team

In January 2020, Alan Dershowitz joined President Donald Trump's legal team as Trump was being tried on impeachment charges in the Senate. He stated he would not accept any compensation and would donate it to charity if paid.

May 2020: Giuffre repeats allegations in Netflix series

In May 2020, Virginia Giuffre repeated her allegations on camera as part of the Netflix series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, stating that Epstein had trafficked her to Alan Dershowitz for sex at least six times. In response, Dershowitz repeated his denial of Giuffre's account and accused her of selling false allegations to news outlets.

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July 31, 2020: Dershowitz denies meeting Giuffre

In a July 31, 2020, interview, Alan Dershowitz stated, "I never met her. I never saw her," referring to Virginia Giuffre.

May 2021: Dershowitz sues Netflix and producers of documentary

In May 2021, Alan Dershowitz filed a defamation lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court in Miami against Netflix and the producers of Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich, in addition to the 2019 litigation filed by Giuffre and Dershowitz against each other for defamation in federal court in New York.

2021: Commented on Trump's Rally and Potential Defense

In 2021, Alan Dershowitz said that Trump's rally preceding the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol was "constitutionally protected" speech. He offered to defend Trump in a trial.

2022: Settlement of lawsuits

In 2022, Giuffre, Dershowitz and Boies jointly announced that they had settled their respective lawsuits. Giuffre said that she realized that her identification of Dershowitz might have been a mistake. Dershowitz said that his assertion that Boies had engaged in an extortion plot and in suborning perjury was mistaken.