![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-07-at-10.35.56-AM.png\")
<\/a>Rick Friedman<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
A lawyer for one of Epstein\u2019s victims claims he was part of sex-trafficking ring with Dershowitz and others\u2014but the Harvard attorney says sealed documents will prove his innocence.<\/em><\/h3>\nKate Briquelet
\nThe Daily Beast<\/p>\n
Famed attorney Alan Dershowitz was accused of involvement in billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s alleged sex-trafficking ring by an attorney for one of Epstein\u2019s victims, who claimed in federal court on Wednesday that the release of sealed documents will prove it.<\/p>\n
Paul Cassell, who represents Virginia Roberts Giuffre, told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the testimony of other witnesses will show Dershowitz\u2019s involvement in the alleged trafficking of \u201chis close friend Jeffrey Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen all the records come out it will show that Epstein and [Epstein\u2019s alleged madam Ghislaine] Maxwell were trafficking girls to the benefit of his friends, including Mr. Dershowitz,\u201d Cassell said in oral arguments for a case filed by the\u00a0Miami Herald<\/em> to unseal a collection of court documents relating to Giuffre\u2019s now settled lawsuit against Maxwell.<\/p>\nThe hearing came nearly two weeks after a Florida judge ruled federal prosecutors violated the law<\/a>\u00a0when they inked a non-prosecution deal with Epstein in 2007\u2014and concealed that agreement from more than 30 of Epstein\u2019s victims. The Department of Justice has\u00a0opened an investigation<\/a>into the secret deal, which was handled by Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, who was U.S. Attorney in Miami at the time.<\/p>\nDershowitz<\/a>, a Harvard law professor, was one member of Epstein\u2019s legal team that helped broker the unusual non-prosecution agreement.<\/p>\nFor his part, Dershowitz and his lawyers are also requesting the court release the trove of documents to the public\u2014but they say it\u2019s in order to prove his innocence.<\/p>\n
Outside the courtroom, Dershowitz railed against Giuffre and her attorneys, accusing them of fabricating Giuffre\u2019s claims that Epstein forced her to have sex with Dershowitz. He alluded to emails between Giuffre and a\u00a0friend that he claims will reveal Giuffre made up the claims against Dershowitz at the behest of her lawyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve denied ever meeting her or even knowing who she was,\u201d Dershowitz said.<\/p>\n
Moments later, he added of Giuffre, \u201cShe is hurting the #MeToo movement terribly. This was all about money and undercuts the many people who are victimized.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n<\/div>\n\u201cShe is hurting the #MeToo movement terribly.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\u2014\u00a0Alan Dershowitz, speaking about one of Epstein’s victims<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Asked if he still represents Epstein, Dershowitz said, \u201cI don\u2019t represent Epstein\u201d before walking back his answer: \u201cYou never stop being someone\u2019s lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was his lawyer until this deal was made,\u201d Dershowitz added, before claiming he hasn\u2019t seen Epstein in years.<\/p>\n
As The Daily Beast\u00a0previously reported<\/a>, Epstein faced life behind bars for his alleged sex acts with minors but walked away with a slap on the wrist, pleading guilty to two state charges: solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution. The 66-year-old financier served 13 months of his 18-month sentence in a private wing of a Palm Beach jail and was allowed to leave on \u201cwork release\u201d for 16 hours each day.<\/p>\nA recent\u00a0Miami Herald\u00a0<\/a><\/em>investigation<\/a>\u00a0identified more than 80 women who claim they were molested by Epstein via a \u201csex pyramid scheme\u201d from 2001 to 2006, at his Palm Beach mansion and elsewhere, though the number of victims is likely in the hundreds. Indeed, Epstein\u2019s former butler kept a black book containing the names of hundreds of girls and young women that the billionaire recruited for sex and massages, the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\nEpstein hired girls<\/a>\u00a0as young as 13 to give him massages. Once they arrived at his home, he would molest his victims or masturbate, according to court records and police reports. In some cases, he forced his victims into intercourse with him or a young woman he called his Yugoslavian sex slave. After his sickening assaults, Epstein allegedly paid the girls $200 or $300, though sometimes as much as $1,000.<\/p>\nOne of those victims was Giuffre, who claims she was 15 and\u00a0working a summer job at Mar-a-Lago<\/a>\u00a0in 1998 when British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly recruited her as a masseuse for Epstein. Giuffre said Epstein kept her as a \u201csex slave\u201d until 2002 and that she was forced to have sex with his friends, including\u00a0Prince Andrew<\/a>\u00a0and Dershowitz. (Both men have adamantly denied the allegations.)<\/p>\nIn September 2015, Giuffre filed a defamation suit against Maxwell after she called Giuffre\u2019s claims \u201cobvious lies\u201d and, according to the complaint, \u201cundertook a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Giuffre and to so damage her reputation that Giuffre\u2019s factual reporting of what had happened to her would not be credited.\u201d The case settled in May 2017, records show.<\/p>\n
In April 2018, the\u00a0Miami Herald<\/em>\u00a0asked a federal judge in New York to unseal all documents that had been sealed or redacted in the suit.<\/p>\n\u201cThough two previous motions to unseal have been denied, the reasoning underlying the denial\u2014the imminence of trial, and potential impact on a jury\u2014is no longer relevant because the case has been settled,\u201d one lawyer for the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u00a0stated in court papers.<\/p>\nBefore the\u00a0Herald\u00a0<\/em>filed motions to intervene, Dershowitz and\u00a0far-right podcaster Michael Cernovich<\/a>\u00a0also asked to unseal certain documents. It\u2019s unclear which specific documents Dershowitz wanted to make public because his motion was partially redacted. Cernovich asked the court to unseal Maxwell\u2019s summary judgment pleadings. The court denied both their requests, and they appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.<\/p>\nOn Wednesday, Sanford Bohrer, an attorney for the\u00a0Herald<\/em>, requested the 167 sealed documents in the case be sent to the district court and each one be reviewed for redactions before being released to the public. \u201cMr. Epstein for good or bad is a focus of some things that are really important today,\u201d Bohrer said.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\u201cDershowitz and far-right podcaster Michael Cernovich
\nalso asked to unseal certain documents.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nTy Gee, a lawyer for Maxwell, indicated his client was the only party who opposed unsealing the court records and pushed for the panel to stick with U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet\u2019s decision to keep the records secret.<\/p>\n
Gee claimed Giuffre has \u201cwoven\u201d a story that\u2019s \u201cbecome more exotic\u201d all for the sake of making money. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like I see a name in the news and I\u2019m going to make an allegation against them,\u201d Gee said.<\/p>\n
Cernovich\u2019s attorney, Marc Randazza, declared to the court, \u201cAll we have is Maxwell to overcome,\u201d before holding up a black-lined redacted document and comparing the court records to \u201cFOIA documents from the CIA.\u201d The panel asked Randazza about\u00a0Cernovich\u2019s credentials<\/a>\u00a0and whether he should have the same rights as a journalist.<\/p>\nAfter Randazza spoke, Cassell said he would describe Cernovich as a self-professed \u201cslut-shamer\u201d and \u201ca proxy or a stand-in for Mr. Dershowitz.\u201d The only reason Cernovich filed motions requesting a release of the documents was because Dershowitz tried to do so himself and failed, Cassell told the panel. (This statement prompted Dershowitz, who was seated in the gallery, to whisper, \u201cHe\u2019s defaming me in court.\u201d)<\/p>\n
Dershowitz\u2019s attorney, Andrew Celli, asked for three documents pertaining to his client to be released immediately because the 81-year-old professor\u2019s \u201creputation has been besmirched.\u201d Celli denied Dershowitz was collaborating with Cernovich.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be absolutely clear: Mr. Dershowitz is happy and prepared and eager to unseal all documents in this case no matter what they say about him,\u201d Celli said. \u201cHe believes, your honor, in the marketplace of ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a collection of news outlets and First Amendment and free press groups filed a brief in support of the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u2019s appeal. The organizations included Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Associated Press Media Editors, POLITICO, FOX Television Stations, and the\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>, among multiple others.<\/p>\n\u201cContrary to the district court\u2019s concern that public access to the Summary Judgment Documents will serve only to \u2018promote scandal,\u2019 access will provide the public and the press with information key to their understanding of this litigation, which relates to allegations of serial sexual assault and abuse of minors by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and has implicated high-level public officials and public figures,\u201d the brief stated.<\/p>\n
The public interest in the case \u201cis particularly acute due to the variety of public figures and public officials who are alleged to be connected to Jeffrey Epstein and his victims,\u201d the brief added, \u201csuch as President Donald Trump, former-President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Alan Dershowitz.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe Daily Beast<\/p>\n
The hearing came nearly two weeks after a Florida judge ruled federal prosecutors violated the law<\/a>\u00a0when they inked a non-prosecution deal with Epstein in 2007\u2014and concealed that agreement from more than 30 of Epstein\u2019s victims. The Department of Justice has\u00a0opened an investigation<\/a>into the secret deal, which was handled by Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, who was U.S. Attorney in Miami at the time.<\/p>\n Dershowitz<\/a>, a Harvard law professor, was one member of Epstein\u2019s legal team that helped broker the unusual non-prosecution agreement.<\/p>\n For his part, Dershowitz and his lawyers are also requesting the court release the trove of documents to the public\u2014but they say it\u2019s in order to prove his innocence.<\/p>\n Outside the courtroom, Dershowitz railed against Giuffre and her attorneys, accusing them of fabricating Giuffre\u2019s claims that Epstein forced her to have sex with Dershowitz. He alluded to emails between Giuffre and a\u00a0friend that he claims will reveal Giuffre made up the claims against Dershowitz at the behest of her lawyers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve denied ever meeting her or even knowing who she was,\u201d Dershowitz said.<\/p>\n Moments later, he added of Giuffre, \u201cShe is hurting the #MeToo movement terribly. This was all about money and undercuts the many people who are victimized.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he still represents Epstein, Dershowitz said, \u201cI don\u2019t represent Epstein\u201d before walking back his answer: \u201cYou never stop being someone\u2019s lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was his lawyer until this deal was made,\u201d Dershowitz added, before claiming he hasn\u2019t seen Epstein in years.<\/p>\n As The Daily Beast\u00a0previously reported<\/a>, Epstein faced life behind bars for his alleged sex acts with minors but walked away with a slap on the wrist, pleading guilty to two state charges: solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution. The 66-year-old financier served 13 months of his 18-month sentence in a private wing of a Palm Beach jail and was allowed to leave on \u201cwork release\u201d for 16 hours each day.<\/p>\n A recent\u00a0Miami Herald\u00a0<\/a><\/em>investigation<\/a>\u00a0identified more than 80 women who claim they were molested by Epstein via a \u201csex pyramid scheme\u201d from 2001 to 2006, at his Palm Beach mansion and elsewhere, though the number of victims is likely in the hundreds. Indeed, Epstein\u2019s former butler kept a black book containing the names of hundreds of girls and young women that the billionaire recruited for sex and massages, the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Epstein hired girls<\/a>\u00a0as young as 13 to give him massages. Once they arrived at his home, he would molest his victims or masturbate, according to court records and police reports. In some cases, he forced his victims into intercourse with him or a young woman he called his Yugoslavian sex slave. After his sickening assaults, Epstein allegedly paid the girls $200 or $300, though sometimes as much as $1,000.<\/p>\n One of those victims was Giuffre, who claims she was 15 and\u00a0working a summer job at Mar-a-Lago<\/a>\u00a0in 1998 when British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly recruited her as a masseuse for Epstein. Giuffre said Epstein kept her as a \u201csex slave\u201d until 2002 and that she was forced to have sex with his friends, including\u00a0Prince Andrew<\/a>\u00a0and Dershowitz. (Both men have adamantly denied the allegations.)<\/p>\n In September 2015, Giuffre filed a defamation suit against Maxwell after she called Giuffre\u2019s claims \u201cobvious lies\u201d and, according to the complaint, \u201cundertook a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Giuffre and to so damage her reputation that Giuffre\u2019s factual reporting of what had happened to her would not be credited.\u201d The case settled in May 2017, records show.<\/p>\n In April 2018, the\u00a0Miami Herald<\/em>\u00a0asked a federal judge in New York to unseal all documents that had been sealed or redacted in the suit.<\/p>\n \u201cThough two previous motions to unseal have been denied, the reasoning underlying the denial\u2014the imminence of trial, and potential impact on a jury\u2014is no longer relevant because the case has been settled,\u201d one lawyer for the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u00a0stated in court papers.<\/p>\n Before the\u00a0Herald\u00a0<\/em>filed motions to intervene, Dershowitz and\u00a0far-right podcaster Michael Cernovich<\/a>\u00a0also asked to unseal certain documents. It\u2019s unclear which specific documents Dershowitz wanted to make public because his motion was partially redacted. Cernovich asked the court to unseal Maxwell\u2019s summary judgment pleadings. The court denied both their requests, and they appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Sanford Bohrer, an attorney for the\u00a0Herald<\/em>, requested the 167 sealed documents in the case be sent to the district court and each one be reviewed for redactions before being released to the public. \u201cMr. Epstein for good or bad is a focus of some things that are really important today,\u201d Bohrer said.<\/p>\n Ty Gee, a lawyer for Maxwell, indicated his client was the only party who opposed unsealing the court records and pushed for the panel to stick with U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet\u2019s decision to keep the records secret.<\/p>\n Gee claimed Giuffre has \u201cwoven\u201d a story that\u2019s \u201cbecome more exotic\u201d all for the sake of making money. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like I see a name in the news and I\u2019m going to make an allegation against them,\u201d Gee said.<\/p>\n Cernovich\u2019s attorney, Marc Randazza, declared to the court, \u201cAll we have is Maxwell to overcome,\u201d before holding up a black-lined redacted document and comparing the court records to \u201cFOIA documents from the CIA.\u201d The panel asked Randazza about\u00a0Cernovich\u2019s credentials<\/a>\u00a0and whether he should have the same rights as a journalist.<\/p>\n After Randazza spoke, Cassell said he would describe Cernovich as a self-professed \u201cslut-shamer\u201d and \u201ca proxy or a stand-in for Mr. Dershowitz.\u201d The only reason Cernovich filed motions requesting a release of the documents was because Dershowitz tried to do so himself and failed, Cassell told the panel. (This statement prompted Dershowitz, who was seated in the gallery, to whisper, \u201cHe\u2019s defaming me in court.\u201d)<\/p>\n Dershowitz\u2019s attorney, Andrew Celli, asked for three documents pertaining to his client to be released immediately because the 81-year-old professor\u2019s \u201creputation has been besmirched.\u201d Celli denied Dershowitz was collaborating with Cernovich.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be absolutely clear: Mr. Dershowitz is happy and prepared and eager to unseal all documents in this case no matter what they say about him,\u201d Celli said. \u201cHe believes, your honor, in the marketplace of ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a collection of news outlets and First Amendment and free press groups filed a brief in support of the\u00a0Herald<\/em>\u2019s appeal. The organizations included Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Associated Press Media Editors, POLITICO, FOX Television Stations, and the\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>, among multiple others.<\/p>\n \u201cContrary to the district court\u2019s concern that public access to the Summary Judgment Documents will serve only to \u2018promote scandal,\u2019 access will provide the public and the press with information key to their understanding of this litigation, which relates to allegations of serial sexual assault and abuse of minors by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and has implicated high-level public officials and public figures,\u201d the brief stated.<\/p>\n The public interest in the case \u201cis particularly acute due to the variety of public figures and public officials who are alleged to be connected to Jeffrey Epstein and his victims,\u201d the brief added, \u201csuch as President Donald Trump, former-President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Alan Dershowitz.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n\u201cShe is hurting the #MeToo movement terribly.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u2014\u00a0Alan Dershowitz, speaking about one of Epstein’s victims<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\u201cDershowitz and far-right podcaster Michael Cernovich
\nalso asked to unseal certain documents.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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