Alan Dershowitz reportedly lobbied Trump to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
Former Jeffrey Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz lobbied
then-President Donald Trump to pardon madam Ghislaine Maxwell before she could
face trial, according to a report.
The 83-year-old lawyer — himself long accused of having sex
with one of late pedophile Epstein’s teen accusers — pushed for the pardon
after UK media heiress Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 for the
sex-trafficking crimes she was convicted of last month, the Times of London
said.
The retired Harvard law professor was able to use his close
ties to Trump, whom he also represented during his impeachment trial, the paper
said.
One of the convicted madam’s brothers, Ian Maxwell, 65,
confirmed to the UK paper that he had discussed the possibility of clemency
with Dershowitz, who got Epstein his controversial wrist-slap 2008 plea deal on
sex offenses with underage girls.
“There was one phone call between Professor Dershowitz and a
family member during which the generic issue of pardons was touched on,” Ian
Maxwell told the UK Times.
However, he insisted his family — heirs of late, disgraced
media baron Robert Maxwell — did not pay Dershowitz or explicitly ask him to
raise the matter with Trump.
Biographer Michael Wolff also claimed in “Landslide,” his
book about Trump’s final days in office, that the then-president discussed the
possibility of pardoning Maxwell.
Trump, one of many high-profile people who had socialized
with Maxwell and Epstein, showed a “sudden interest” in the madam during the
pardoning period, Wolff said.
Dershowitz declined to discuss his contact with Trump, the
UK paper said. However, a source insisted that it “would not be unreasonable to
report that” he had raised the Maxwell case with the then-president. The paper
was unable to reach Trump for comment.
As well as helping Epstein get his sweetheart 2008 deal —
which saw him allegedly able to continue his abuse while under a supervised
“work release” program — Dershowitz has long battled to clear his name of
personal involvement.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the Epstein accuser suing Prince
Andrew, has also repeatedly accused Dershowitz of having sex with her when she
was as young as 16.
Dershowitz has denied the allegations and sued Giuffre for
defamation, claiming she’s a “serial liar” who used his name because he was
famous.
Andrew has also vehemently denied her claims, and is
awaiting a decision on a motion to dismiss her lawsuit filed in Manhattan.
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