Who is Alan Dershowitz?
Alan Dershowitz is a renowned American jurist and emeritus professor at Harvard Law School. He built his legal career defending high-profile clients including O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, and Klaus von Bülow, becoming one of the most prominent defense attorneys and legal commentators in the United States.
Role in the 2008 Epstein Defense
Dershowitz was part of the powerful defense team that negotiated the 2008 non-prosecution agreement with then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta. The team which included Kenneth Starr, Roy Black, and Martin Weinberg succeeded in obtaining extraordinarily lenient terms allowing Epstein to plead to two state charges rather than face federal prosecution.
Accusations by Virginia Giuffre
In 2015, Virginia Giuffre included Dershowitz in civil filings as one of the individuals she was allegedly directed to have sexual contact with as a minor. Dershowitz categorically denied the accusations and filed defamation counterclaims against Giuffre’s attorneys.
2023 Settlement and Retraction
In 2023, Giuffre and Dershowitz reached a settlement in which Giuffre issued a retraction statement acknowledging she “may have been mistaken” about Dershowitz. The terms were not fully disclosed. Dershowitz characterized the retraction as vindicating him.