One of Trump’s defenders and presumed legal advisors is the renowned Alan Dershowitz. The retired Harvard law professor appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning. As he often does, the attorney who has represented the likes of O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, seems to say whatever works best for him at the time.
On the This Week show, Dershowitz claims the Mueller report will be devastating for Trump, but...
“I think the report is going to be devastating to the president and I know that the president's team is already working on a response to the report...When I say devastating, I mean it's going to paint a picture that's going to be politically very devastating...(but) I still don't think it's going to make a criminal case.”
Dan Abrams, ABC’s chief legal analyst disagrees:
“Alan is taking the position that the president effectively can’t obstruct justice.”
Dershowitz
alludes to former president Richard Nixon, basically saying there is no obstruction of justice unless Trump destroys evidence, tampers with witnesses and pays hush money as did Nixon (who resigned before imminent impeachment). Dershowitz goes on to say Trump can’t get in trouble simply by making public tweets. Abrams replies:
“Where in the law does it say it has to be public?”
(To watch the full Abrams-Dershowitz exchange and/or the entire show, see below the fold.)
Here is a video excerpt showing an exchange between Alan Dershowitz and host George Stephanopoulos, followed by the transcript.
Transcript:
Stephanopoulos: Let’s stipulate though—lets just talk about the information. So we’re getting information from Paul Manafort, we’re getting information perhaps from Corsi. We’re already getting information from Gates, from Cohen, from Flynn. That’s an awful lot of people tied to the president (who are) providing evidence.
Dershowitz: It is, and I think the report is going to be devastating to the president, and I know the president’s team is already working on a response to the report. And so at some point when the report’s made public—and that’s a very hard question, considering the new attorney general has the authority to decide when, and what circumstances to make it public, it will be made public probably with a response along side...When I say devastating, I mean it’s going to paint a picture that’s going to be politically very devastating. I still don’t believe it’s going to make a criminal case, because collusion is not criminal.
Stephanopoulos: But conspiracy to cooperate with an attempt to defraud the United States government is a crime.
Dershowitz: No, no, that’s too much of a stretch.
The majority of people responding to the Twitter clip were not fans of Dershowitz. For me, the tweet below may best encompass reality.
Dershowitz continues to talk out of the wrong end. Doesn’t he realize that the entire nation knows he’s on the payroll?? He’s a Trump crony that has completely destroyed any credibility he ever had. Come on ABC you can do better.
It seems that everyone close to Trump is good at lying—until they’re caught.
Thus far, the investigation has resulted in 32 individuals indictments and six guilty pleas, including that of the president’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Should Dershowitz be watching his step, as well? Being a slick attorney pal of Donald Trump doesn’t guarantee immunity from justice. Just ask Michael Cohen.
Below, is the full This Week show from November 25, 2018 via YouTube: