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Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo
“Maybe the question isn’t what happened to Alan Dershowitz. Maybe it’s what happened to everyone else.”—Politico
New York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz, one of America’s most respected legal scholars, proves—with incontrovertible evidence—that he is entirely innocent of the sexual misconduct accusations against him, while suggesting a roadmap for how such allegations should truly be handled in a just society.
Alan Dershowitz has been called “one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America” by Politico and “the nation’s most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights” by Newsweek. Yet he has come under intense criticism for applying those same principles, and his famed “shoe‑on‑the‑other‑foot test,” to those accused of sexual misconduct.
In Guilt by Accusation, Dershowitz provides an in‑depth analysis of the false accusations against him, alongside a full presentation of the exculpatory evidence that proves his account, including emails from his accuser and an admission of his innocence from her lawyer, David Boies. Additionally, he examines current attitudes toward accusations of sexual misconduct, which are today, in the age of #MeToo, accepted as implicit truth without giving the accused a fair chance to defend themselves and their innocence, and suggests possible pathways back to a society and legal system in which due process is respected above public opinion and the whims of social media mobs.
This book is Alan Dershowitz’s plea for fairness for both accuser and accused, his principled stand for due process no matter the allegation, and his compelling assertion of his own innocence. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the inside story behind the accusations against him or who cares about the current societal debate over how we should handle accusations of sexual misconduct.
The #MeToo movement has generally been a force for good, but as with many good movements, it is being exploited by some bad people for personal profit. Supporters of the #MeToo movement must not allow false accusers to hurt real victims by hiding behind its virtuous shield, turning it into an exploitive sword against innocent people.
New York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz, one of America’s most respected legal scholars, proves—with incontrovertible evidence—that he is entirely innocent of the sexual misconduct accusations against him, while suggesting a roadmap for how such allegations should truly be handled in a just society.
Alan Dershowitz has been called “one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America” by Politico and “the nation’s most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights” by Newsweek. Yet he has come under intense criticism for applying those same principles, and his famed “shoe‑on‑the‑other‑foot test,” to those accused of sexual misconduct.
In Guilt by Accusation, Dershowitz provides an in‑depth analysis of the false accusations against him, alongside a full presentation of the exculpatory evidence that proves his account, including emails from his accuser and an admission of his innocence from her lawyer, David Boies. Additionally, he examines current attitudes toward accusations of sexual misconduct, which are today, in the age of #MeToo, accepted as implicit truth without giving the accused a fair chance to defend themselves and their innocence, and suggests possible pathways back to a society and legal system in which due process is respected above public opinion and the whims of social media mobs.
This book is Alan Dershowitz’s plea for fairness for both accuser and accused, his principled stand for due process no matter the allegation, and his compelling assertion of his own innocence. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the inside story behind the accusations against him or who cares about the current societal debate over how we should handle accusations of sexual misconduct.
The #MeToo movement has generally been a force for good, but as with many good movements, it is being exploited by some bad people for personal profit. Supporters of the #MeToo movement must not allow false accusers to hurt real victims by hiding behind its virtuous shield, turning it into an exploitive sword against innocent people.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 19, 2019
2117 people are currently reading
811 people want to read
About the author
Alan M. Dershowitz
146 books318 followersAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is known for his career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.
As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.
As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
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December 14, 2021Virginia Roberts went to a journalist in 2011 and said she had a story. The journalist wanted her to spice it up with well-known names and suggested some. Dershowitz, Clinton and a few other names came up. Roberts lawyer admitted that Dershowitz could not possibly have been in any of the places that Roberts said he was when she was "forced to have sex with him" and when challenged, she said it was "a mistake". Right. It took five years of hell and being pilloried in the media for Dershowitz to clear his name.
When I read that I felt she lacked all credibility and was a gold-digging sex worker who would not even have had any kind of case* in 39 states where the age of consent is 16 or 17, or almost the entirety of Europe where the age ranges from 14 to 16 with only 3 countries being 18. *She might have had a good story though!
However, it seems that she is a victim, the original #MeToo and must be believed as it seems must all accusers of all men. Epstein was undoubtedly a paedophile - he flew in for his use 14 year old twins from France among his other unsavoury crimes. Just because someone is guilty doesn't mean that those who accuse him are all genuine or are doing it for pure motives, or that he was even guilty in their cases.
So now we have the scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell, his girlfriend. I cannot possibly see how she can not be part of it, but she was never accused in all the years they were after Epstein or his convictions, until he died, then Someone Has To Pay. One of the witnesses was an out-and-out liar, saying she was trapped for 5 months and eventually swam to freedom in 'shark-infested waters'. I know the Virgins very well, as I know most of the Caribbean, it is one of the world's great diving capitals. Shark-infested indeed.
Not only that but Little St James aka 'pedophile island' is less than a 100 yards from Great St James, what with a bit of wading in the shallow waters, it wasn't that far to swim. The main island, St Thomas is about 1/4 mile away and boatmen came and went all day, delivering goods, staff, maintenance people etc. Some people are backing up their stories with porkies and talking to the press when the press shouldn't publish them until the trial is over.
People like Weinstein and Epstein, (R Kelly and Jimmy Saville) etc. make me sick, the way they got away with sexual abuse because of their fame, money and connections. But it is also their fame, money and connections that lure in those who want those things, even a small bite of them and think they can benefit, this discredits true victims.
When I read that I felt she lacked all credibility and was a gold-digging sex worker who would not even have had any kind of case* in 39 states where the age of consent is 16 or 17, or almost the entirety of Europe where the age ranges from 14 to 16 with only 3 countries being 18. *She might have had a good story though!
However, it seems that she is a victim, the original #MeToo and must be believed as it seems must all accusers of all men. Epstein was undoubtedly a paedophile - he flew in for his use 14 year old twins from France among his other unsavoury crimes. Just because someone is guilty doesn't mean that those who accuse him are all genuine or are doing it for pure motives, or that he was even guilty in their cases.
So now we have the scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell, his girlfriend. I cannot possibly see how she can not be part of it, but she was never accused in all the years they were after Epstein or his convictions, until he died, then Someone Has To Pay. One of the witnesses was an out-and-out liar, saying she was trapped for 5 months and eventually swam to freedom in 'shark-infested waters'. I know the Virgins very well, as I know most of the Caribbean, it is one of the world's great diving capitals. Shark-infested indeed.
Not only that but Little St James aka 'pedophile island' is less than a 100 yards from Great St James, what with a bit of wading in the shallow waters, it wasn't that far to swim. The main island, St Thomas is about 1/4 mile away and boatmen came and went all day, delivering goods, staff, maintenance people etc. Some people are backing up their stories with porkies and talking to the press when the press shouldn't publish them until the trial is over.
People like Weinstein and Epstein, (R Kelly and Jimmy Saville) etc. make me sick, the way they got away with sexual abuse because of their fame, money and connections. But it is also their fame, money and connections that lure in those who want those things, even a small bite of them and think they can benefit, this discredits true victims.
March 1, 2021
Excellent. Law driven, document accompanied- every nuance of time, place, motive nailed.
The Introduction alone is nugget to this entire issue. The personal aspect, sure- but how this transgresses in absolute negation the entire "assumption of innocence" upon which our entire USA law rests. Read this, if you have time for nothing else.
It was mind boggling to me in the exact details of association between all these elites. And various attachments for monetary uses and businesses, among other issues of mixing high society with profits. Routinely and constantly. And how the lawyer "friends" lied to Alan over and over.
How those lies can be protected and pay off in monetary and politico "trades" or advantages. And the last chapter about 1st Amendment rights to "tell the truth" even if it negates character and reputation of others. Priceless.
It's as if all the journalism rules are no more. His exact examples are as disturbing as any information I think I've ever read upon the media or politico currently. He names names. Well and clearly, journalism no longer exists at all in great masses of network corporate. NPR and ABC especially well named to why and what was reported. Untruth.
To call Alan a simple polemist is the most erroneous information of all. He holds bravery beyond most humans. The exact kind that John F. Kennedy wrote about in Profiles of Courage.
His chapter on/ of advise content to the #MeToo movement is 6 stars. Women who are used and abused do need NOT to be EVER considered or even put into the same type of connotation circles for any onus as these conspiracy lying scenarios as exemplified by Guiffre and the others of like habits in this book.
Surprise of the book- his estimation of Meghan McCain and her generalization habits. Particularly re her "some are all" for boycotting or banning or whatever/ where ever the current hubris leads. I couldn't agree more with him either. That logic of continual generalization for judgment/ thought itself she STILL uses is despicable. Not to speak of the others of her authoritarian moronic to rules of law "peers" on that show. That he is banned- he should wear that honor as a badge on his sleeve.
He believes Epstein DID commit suicide- and was encouraged to do so. The opposite of the protocol used as a commonly held "suicide" watch- was in reality pretty difficult to achieve. But it happened.
The readers who gave this 1 star or even 2. They didn't read the book. The last dozens of pages are documentation of the emails or letters or law deposition copy. Alan Dershowitz is one of those 1 in 100 truth tellers-regardless if they are "the other" side. Regardless of his own politico, he knows when laws have been skewered and perverted too. And he knows the Constitution. Not twisting generalizations, but the history of processes it relates clearly and insures.
Some of the byline quotes on the back cover are 6 star too. Like this one from Lucinda Franks Morganthau, Pulitzer prize author: "Alan Dershowitz reminds us that popular mob passions and fashions can turn the blameless into public pariahs. Accused by a woman he never met, he presents a compelling argument that he was framed for money."
His entire life at 75 (he is 81 now) was turned up side down by pure lies. And as he concludes here "the skunk is gone but the stink remains".
The Introduction alone is nugget to this entire issue. The personal aspect, sure- but how this transgresses in absolute negation the entire "assumption of innocence" upon which our entire USA law rests. Read this, if you have time for nothing else.
It was mind boggling to me in the exact details of association between all these elites. And various attachments for monetary uses and businesses, among other issues of mixing high society with profits. Routinely and constantly. And how the lawyer "friends" lied to Alan over and over.
How those lies can be protected and pay off in monetary and politico "trades" or advantages. And the last chapter about 1st Amendment rights to "tell the truth" even if it negates character and reputation of others. Priceless.
It's as if all the journalism rules are no more. His exact examples are as disturbing as any information I think I've ever read upon the media or politico currently. He names names. Well and clearly, journalism no longer exists at all in great masses of network corporate. NPR and ABC especially well named to why and what was reported. Untruth.
To call Alan a simple polemist is the most erroneous information of all. He holds bravery beyond most humans. The exact kind that John F. Kennedy wrote about in Profiles of Courage.
His chapter on/ of advise content to the #MeToo movement is 6 stars. Women who are used and abused do need NOT to be EVER considered or even put into the same type of connotation circles for any onus as these conspiracy lying scenarios as exemplified by Guiffre and the others of like habits in this book.
Surprise of the book- his estimation of Meghan McCain and her generalization habits. Particularly re her "some are all" for boycotting or banning or whatever/ where ever the current hubris leads. I couldn't agree more with him either. That logic of continual generalization for judgment/ thought itself she STILL uses is despicable. Not to speak of the others of her authoritarian moronic to rules of law "peers" on that show. That he is banned- he should wear that honor as a badge on his sleeve.
He believes Epstein DID commit suicide- and was encouraged to do so. The opposite of the protocol used as a commonly held "suicide" watch- was in reality pretty difficult to achieve. But it happened.
The readers who gave this 1 star or even 2. They didn't read the book. The last dozens of pages are documentation of the emails or letters or law deposition copy. Alan Dershowitz is one of those 1 in 100 truth tellers-regardless if they are "the other" side. Regardless of his own politico, he knows when laws have been skewered and perverted too. And he knows the Constitution. Not twisting generalizations, but the history of processes it relates clearly and insures.
Some of the byline quotes on the back cover are 6 star too. Like this one from Lucinda Franks Morganthau, Pulitzer prize author: "Alan Dershowitz reminds us that popular mob passions and fashions can turn the blameless into public pariahs. Accused by a woman he never met, he presents a compelling argument that he was framed for money."
His entire life at 75 (he is 81 now) was turned up side down by pure lies. And as he concludes here "the skunk is gone but the stink remains".
November 27, 2019
There is a minor polemic in this text regarding how the medias* are weaponized against one’s political enemies. Dershowitz of course focuses in on the media’s eagerness to stick it self in legal cases and take sides by being some form of arbiter of truth. There is certainly something interesting in both of these previous ideas, and I would like to see someone expand on this- nevertheless the book was mostly not on these subjects and was rather on Dershowitz’s personal legal defense.
He runs through his perspective on the case (proclaiming that he is innocent - from the accusation of statutory rape). He elaborates on his alibi, the possible motive on side of the accuser and kinda gets repetitive. There is though some very interesting information regarding his reflections on his relationship with Epstein and how much trouble simply being any proximity with the guy has caused him. He went so far as to mention that being an acquaintance with Epstein was one of the worst things that has ever occurred to him, and that he wished he had never met him. (I am of course paraphrasing.)
This was interesting on many accounts and if you have a day off it can be read in one sitting. It likely will have you empathize with him .
Remaining qualm:
though, I do not get the sense he really sees any validity in the me too movement and as such that may position him in a manner to invalidate how frequently there is an objectification of women by those in social power. I of course should be careful to not put words in his mouth, but there are people who would enjoy simply stating the me too movement is a bunch of people attempting to get money from rich people and take down individuals in power. In reality this is not the case, as emerging in the masses has empowered some people to speak up about their traumas
Recommended for those who are interested in law, rhetoric and modern politics
*it’s not a single entity
He runs through his perspective on the case (proclaiming that he is innocent - from the accusation of statutory rape). He elaborates on his alibi, the possible motive on side of the accuser and kinda gets repetitive. There is though some very interesting information regarding his reflections on his relationship with Epstein and how much trouble simply being any proximity with the guy has caused him. He went so far as to mention that being an acquaintance with Epstein was one of the worst things that has ever occurred to him, and that he wished he had never met him. (I am of course paraphrasing.)
This was interesting on many accounts and if you have a day off it can be read in one sitting. It likely will have you empathize with him .
Remaining qualm:
though, I do not get the sense he really sees any validity in the me too movement and as such that may position him in a manner to invalidate how frequently there is an objectification of women by those in social power. I of course should be careful to not put words in his mouth, but there are people who would enjoy simply stating the me too movement is a bunch of people attempting to get money from rich people and take down individuals in power. In reality this is not the case, as emerging in the masses has empowered some people to speak up about their traumas
Recommended for those who are interested in law, rhetoric and modern politics
*it’s not a single entity
November 21, 2019
I'm glad I read this book. Its my opinion that this good man has been slandered and smeared, and all the exculpatory evidence in the book proves it. Me too went too far.
July 26, 2020
I recently read on some news site a piece by Alan Dershowitz, where he delivered a scathing attack on Netflix for releasing their Jeffrey Epstein documentary. He claimed in the article that he had supplied significant evidence to Netflix that deemed a key witness as not credible, but they ignored his evidence and released the documentary anyway. He urged readers to download this free Kindle book, so I did.
Dershowitz tells of the false accusations made against him, vehemently denies these claims and backs up his innocence with irrefutable evidence, proving his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre (also the principal accuser of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell), has lied.
The book reveals her lies and the apparent extortion perpetrated by her unscrupulous lawyers. The events are incredible, cascading from bad to worse, to worse again.
Dershowitz has been dragged into the gutter and has had to spend the last several years fighting to clear his now defamed name, as well as attempt to stop the establishment of a dangerous constitutional precedent that would effectively lead to more false accusations, with accusers having the ability to hide behind litigation privilege, ultimately hurting real victims.
Dershowitz tells of the false accusations made against him, vehemently denies these claims and backs up his innocence with irrefutable evidence, proving his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre (also the principal accuser of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell), has lied.
The book reveals her lies and the apparent extortion perpetrated by her unscrupulous lawyers. The events are incredible, cascading from bad to worse, to worse again.
Dershowitz has been dragged into the gutter and has had to spend the last several years fighting to clear his now defamed name, as well as attempt to stop the establishment of a dangerous constitutional precedent that would effectively lead to more false accusations, with accusers having the ability to hide behind litigation privilege, ultimately hurting real victims.
May 30, 2020
I like Alan Dershowitz even though we vote for different presidential candidates every year. I found him well versed in law, honest and fair-minded. But, this book serves no purpose other than to let Mr. Dershowitz vent about a false sexual accusation against him. The publisher should be ashamed of themselves for promoting the book (on the cover!) as a look into the #metoo movement. It's not. As I said above, it's a vehicle for the author to vent and 'prove' his innocence.
I did enjoy a certain level of schadenfreude reading about how lawyers poorly treat other lawyers though. But not enough to justify the purchase price for this a little over 100 pages overly repetitive screed.
I did enjoy a certain level of schadenfreude reading about how lawyers poorly treat other lawyers though. But not enough to justify the purchase price for this a little over 100 pages overly repetitive screed.
March 3, 2020
Dershowitz is one of the few lawyers who, in my mind, has managed to stay honest. He seems more thoughtful every time I read or listen to him. In this book, he takes on the MeToo movement. after he was falsely accused of having sex with a minor (via Epstein). He had emails and many documents proving his innocence. I believe him after reading this.
If you have ever wondered about the truth of some of the MeToo accusations you should read this book. Dershowitz is brilliant and manages to question the idea that if you are accused then you must be guilty and the very real problem of proving innocence. He states his case without insulting or disrespecting the movement.
Read the book ...you may already know persons this has happened to. Women can also be falsely accused. Know that it can ruin lives, end careers and destroy friendships and families.
I would have given this book 5 stars except for Dershowitz repeating himself which sometimes made me a bit impatient.
If you have ever wondered about the truth of some of the MeToo accusations you should read this book. Dershowitz is brilliant and manages to question the idea that if you are accused then you must be guilty and the very real problem of proving innocence. He states his case without insulting or disrespecting the movement.
Read the book ...you may already know persons this has happened to. Women can also be falsely accused. Know that it can ruin lives, end careers and destroy friendships and families.
I would have given this book 5 stars except for Dershowitz repeating himself which sometimes made me a bit impatient.
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February 9, 2022To people who say "Well, if the accusations aren't true, then all the accused need do is sue the accuser", read this book. This was scarier than a Stephen King novel. I sincerely hope that Alan keeps winning little battles such as keeping Julie Brown from getting a Pulitzer prize. This was riveting reading. The only nit that I have to pick is that there was no index..Obviously this book is not for lazy readers like me. From here on in, I only want to read books with with indexes (indices?) including novels.
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December 9, 2021I don't want to give this book a rate since it's basically the defending argument of the author concerning the accusations made against him. However, I did enjoyed it and find it really important for people to read so, take my thoughts as you will.
This read points great views about movements that tend to divide our society, with a black or white, all or nothing mentality, as well as unmoral practicing in the legal field. Even though the topic of this book is definitely a delicate one, it helps the reader not to feel as a traitor of a cause/movement just for having doubts about the veracity of an accusation.
It is okay to have your own opinion, but it's vital to have an open minded attitude towards each individual case and the evidence (or lack of) provided by the parties.
This read points great views about movements that tend to divide our society, with a black or white, all or nothing mentality, as well as unmoral practicing in the legal field. Even though the topic of this book is definitely a delicate one, it helps the reader not to feel as a traitor of a cause/movement just for having doubts about the veracity of an accusation.
It is okay to have your own opinion, but it's vital to have an open minded attitude towards each individual case and the evidence (or lack of) provided by the parties.
November 29, 2019
No comment.
February 3, 2020
This is a book that should be read by all. It could happen to you and your family.
January 8, 2021
Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo by Alan Dershowitz Takes on analysis of the #metoo movement using his own personal example of being accused as part of the Epstein scandal of his sex island with young and underage girls. The idea that women who accuse must always be believed under all circumstances presents dangerous conditions that can, and have been, exploited to extort cash from those who are accused. In the author's case the accusations were easily disproved since he had documented proof that he was somewhere else for the dates and times that were presented. in the process of defending himself, he found out that some unscrupulous lawyers were coaching girls about who to target with accusations and how to put their law suits together to maximize cash payments from defendants who may have been innocent as well but didn't want the negative publicity even if they were innocent. In the author's case he fought back and, once they realized it looked to be too impossible to make a reasonable case, they backed off and withdrew the case. But it does provide a detailed description of how less-than-ethical lawyers work the system with girls who are willing to lie for a prospective payday and lining of the attorney's pockets , too! Moral of the story is that you cannot apply a believe all accusers when it is a fact that some people will lie for an easy payday. And everyone deserves their day in court, even the guilty!
December 18, 2019
A Chilling Hidden Dark-Side of #MeToo and Greed
Absolutely Terrifying! Testament of how low the Media and Greedy Individuals are willing to stoop to further their interests, abusing the #Me Too Movement for personal gains (reputation and/or monetary).
It also showed how insane the current American atmosphere by instantly believing ANYTHING a woman may say, despite CLEAR evidences of the contrary. Journalists, when reporting without a shred of legal and ethical due diligence, not only undermined Journalism but also damaged the American Democracy and its Society (aka putting the benefit of an individual ahead of the collective).
I live in another continent away (Australia), and yet this book terrified me because: a scenario like this may very happen here (Australia).
My heart goes out to Mr Dershowitz. I am certain that he will triumph against this injustice.
Absolutely Terrifying! Testament of how low the Media and Greedy Individuals are willing to stoop to further their interests, abusing the #Me Too Movement for personal gains (reputation and/or monetary).
It also showed how insane the current American atmosphere by instantly believing ANYTHING a woman may say, despite CLEAR evidences of the contrary. Journalists, when reporting without a shred of legal and ethical due diligence, not only undermined Journalism but also damaged the American Democracy and its Society (aka putting the benefit of an individual ahead of the collective).
I live in another continent away (Australia), and yet this book terrified me because: a scenario like this may very happen here (Australia).
My heart goes out to Mr Dershowitz. I am certain that he will triumph against this injustice.
June 7, 2020
I would say that this is a cautionary tale, however, it cannot be a cautionary tale when you are accused of crimes by people you have never met. If Dershowitz who is a law professor and superstar lawyer can be railroaded, what about the rest of us? People want to demonize him because of his work and political views and to make money by using his name. Shocking and shameful.
January 14, 2020
Dershowitz's warning here needs to be carefully considered by all. Having had my employment upended by a woman who made false accusations against me after I rejected her sexual advances, I know personally how these false accusations are taken as gospel
January 9, 2022
“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
“There is no gender-linked gene for truth telling or lying.”
If there’s a male in your family, you need to read this book.
A while back, I saw a Netflix documentary based on all the Epstein accusations. Clearly, he was an evil pedophile. However, having read this book, I regret years of buying into the ridiculous narrative that all women must be believed every single time. Yes, many women are being truthful, hopefully most are, but I no longer believe anything that comes out of Virginia Roberts Guiffre’s mouth.
She’s a manipulative liar through and through, and a gold-digger as well. She lied about Alan Dershowitz. Even her own lawyer admitted to that. She lied about Clinton and the Gores. Frankly, I have a hard time believing anything she says. Money is her sole motive. She has lied about her age. She claimed that she went to work for Epstein when she was 14. She worked for him from the time she was 17 until she was 19. You’re pretty much an adult by that time and you’re quite aware of what you’re doing. I don’t buy her later claim that she made a mistake about her age. There’s quite a jump between 14 and 17. She was 17 when she was all gobsmacked and starstruck after having had sex with Prince Andrew. “She didn’t seem upset about it. She thought it was pretty cool.”
Many young women are attracted to all the money, fame, and power that goes with the Epstein-type package. Think of Harvey Weinstein. There are others also. No, this is not to take the blame away, but I mean come on, I don’t think that every single victim is necessarily all innocent either. These are people who have chosen to abuse the #metoo movement with their false accusations. Unfortunately, what will likely happen next is that true victims of sexual abuse will be less likely to be taken seriously, a situation of the boy who cried wolf.
Not only do I blame Guiffre and her greed, but I also blame the corrupt and unprofessional lawyers/liars, the entire legal system, and of course, the media. I keep reminding myself to take what the media says with a pinch of salt, a large one, mind you, more like a gallon.
False accusations like this can happen to anyone. I have been falsely accused as well. No, not sexual harassment. False accusations get me upset like you wouldn’t believe. They get me so upset, that while reading this book, and shortly after, I’d be fuming and muttering to myself at all the injustice while walking my dog. There are some sick and wicked people out there who are hell-bent on destroying people’s lives and reputations. These include media giants such as “The Daily Beast,” “The New Yorker,” “The Daily Mail,” as well as shows like “The View.” I’m disgusted by all of them. They know exactly what they’re doing.
Sexual harassment should never be tolerated. Dershowitz speaks about that time and time again Unfortunately however, the #metoo movement has given rise to men being guilty just because the women say so. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
#MeToo
“The philosopher Eric Hoffer once described the evolution—or devolution—of movements as follows: ‘Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.’ Only time will tell whether this becomes the fate of #MeToo. One thing is already clear: some unscrupulous lawyers are trying to exploit the #MeToo movement for personal profit by helping women file false or exaggerated accusations against innocent men. If this tactic is allowed to succeed—if there are no consequences for levelling knowingly false accusations—it will spread and become a ‘racket.’”
“The #MeToo movement must not become hostage to those who seek to exploit it and turn it into a racket. It must distinguish between true victims of sex abuse, false victims and those who may have elements of both. It must become more nuanced in its assessment of accusations. If the mantra that all women always tell the truth and that all women should always be believed were to become widely accepted, it would simply substitute one form of sexism for another. In the past, too many women were disbelieved just because they were women. The #MeToo movement rightfully challenged that over-general stereotype. But the other over-general stereotype—that no woman should ever be disbelieved—must be challenged as well. The #MeToo movement began as an understandable reaction against the sexism of allowing predatory men to get away with abusing women. It should not be allowed to be distorted into an overreaction that allows greedy women and their lawyers to turn innocent men into victims of deliberately false accusations.”
“… there are some in the #MeToo movement for whom there is no such thing as innocence.”
Al and Tipper Gore
“The problem is that neither Gore nor his wife had ever been on Jeffrey Epstein’s island. They didn’t know Jeffrey Epstein. They had never even met him. Giuffre had made up the entire detailed and vivid account in order to sell newspapers and a book.”
“Having been caught lying about meeting the Gores on Epstein’s island, Giuffre has compounded and updated her lie by now admitting she may be wrong about where she met them, but not about having met them somewhere with Epstein, perhaps in New York. But the Gores were never with Epstein anywhere. Moreover, Giuffre described in detail seeing Al Gore ‘walk down the beach’ with Epstein on his Caribbean island. Pure fantasy!”
Clinton
“Secret Service and other records prove that Clinton was never on the island. Moreover, it’s hard to imagine Secret Service agents flying with Clinton on a helicopter piloted by a woman who had just gotten her license. Giuffre invented these false accounts, just as she invented the false accounts of meeting me.”
Follow the Money
“Even Giuffre’s own lawyer, after reviewing my documents, concluded that it would have been ‘impossible’ for me to have been on the island and ranch during the relevant time period, and that his client was ‘wrong . . . simply wrong’ in accusing me. She must have confused me with someone else, he surmised. Then it turned out that Giuffre had been paid $160,000 by the Daily Mail to accuse several men, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and his then-wife Tipper of having been entertained by Epstein on his notorious island. She provided the Mail with detailed accounts of their visits, including a claim that Clinton had been flown to the island with his Secret Service contingent on a helicopter piloted by a woman who had just received her license, and that he had dinner with two underage ‘very innocent looking’ girls. The problem with her story is that Secret Service and other records prove that none of the three had ever been on Epstein’s island. It’s also difficult to imagine a president being allowed to fly with an inexperienced pilot. Giuffre had simply made up the entire story for money, just as she made up the entire story about me. It also turned out that Giuffre lied about her age and was well above the age of consent when she claims she was trafficked by Epstein. She originally claimed she was 14 when she first met Epstein and she vividly ‘remembered’ celebrating her sweet 16th birthday with Epstein, but her own employment records conclusively proved she was 17 when she first met Epstein and her own statements show that she was close to 19 when she claimed Epstein ‘started to ask [her] to ‘entertain’ his friends.’ She later admitted these facts but said it was an honest mistake rather than a lie, despite her vivid, if demonstrably false, recollection about how she spent her sweet 16th birthday. Nonetheless, the media continues to refer to her as underage and to anyone who she claims had sex with her as a pedophile. Exposing Giuffre’s lies about her age is not intended to suggest that a 19-year-old cannot be abused by older men.”
Guilt by Accusation
“Evidence was no longer important. It was the accusation that mattered, as well as the identities of the accuser and accused. The presumption shifted from innocence to guilt. For a man to call a false accuser a liar became a political sin, even if the accused had hard evidence of the accuser’s lies, as I did. Much of the media, especially but not exclusively the social media, bought into the narrative of guilt by accusation instead of by proof.”
“Justice, justice shall you pursue.”
“This is everyone’s battle, not just mine. It is a battle for justice for all. It is a struggle against those who bear false witness. The Bible commands, ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue.’ The word justice is repeated, because there must be justice both for the victim of false accusations and for those who falsely accuse. I will not rest until ‘justice’ comes to me, as well as to those who have borne false witness against me.”
Liar, Liar …
“… her own Florida lawyer has cast doubt about whether she was forced to have sex with any prominent people. The combined evidence of my innocence and her history of lying about her accusations and her age totally discredited her accusation against me.”
“… as Oliver Wendell Holmes wisely observed, ‘The Life of the law has not been logic, it has been experience.’ And experience teaches that a witness who has falsely accused others and lied about relevant matters should not be believed. Giuffre’s own lawyer, David Boies, acknowledged this when he told me that she was ‘wrong’ about meeting me on the island, ranch and other locations so she could not be believed about meeting me in New York.”
“Despite having proved I never even met my accuser, my appearances on college campuses have been greeted with protests accusing me of being part of a ‘rape culture.’ People on Twitter have called me a child rapist and worse. There were calls on social media for Harvard to strip me of the emeritus status I earned after 50 years of teaching without a single complaint.”
Political Correctness
“It is a sad sign of the times that the New York Post reporter has refused to publish these emails—which she and the Post are free to do. They, like other media, refuse to disclose negative factual information about alleged #MeToo victims, if such information would undercut the politically correct, but often factually incorrect, narrative of victimization.”
Representing a Client
“… in my opinion no good lawyer should refuse to represent a client because he is despised and accused of heinous crimes. In representing a client, the lawyer must, of course, play by the rules, both ethical and legal, which I have done.”
“For some thoughtless critics, the fact that I represented Epstein makes it more likely that I had sex with his victims. To the contrary, if I had engaged in improper sex with anyone associated with Epstein in 2001 or 2002—which I did not—I never would have agreed to represent him in 2005 and 2006 and be in the limelight as his lawyer. The fact that I successfully represented him does, however, make it far more likely that I would be subjected to a false accusation by one his victims, angry at me for helping Epstein get a ‘sweetheart’ deal which denied her ‘justice.’ Both of my false accusers have acknowledged that they despise me and wish me ill for having represented Epstein, thus providing a motive—in addition to the financial motive—for falsely accusing me. I, on the other hand, have no motive to attack them other than to clear my name of false accusations. I do not know them, have never met them and have nothing against them other than that they have falsely accused me, which is quite a lot.”
Unfair Media
“The current media cannot be trusted to tell the full story of a well-documented false accusation in this age of #MeToo and Epstein. … those few journalists who even try to be fair are accused of undermining the #MeToo movement.”
“Some in the media have played a commendable role in starting the #MeToo movement by exposing predatory practices by many men. But the media, in general, has refused to engage in nuanced reporting about those few women and their lawyers who have tried to take advantage of a positive movement to turn it into a self-serving racket of leveling false accusations for profit and revenge. The time has come for the responsible media to investigate plausible claims by victims of false accusations. It will take courage to do so.”
Victims
“The #MeToo movement has commendably forced into public view the rampant exploitation of vulnerable women by predatory men. Women who have been victims of sexual abuse must be encouraged to expose their abusers. But men who have been falsely accused—especially those, like me, who were deliberately targeted for crass financial gain—must also be encouraged to expose their false accusers.”
“All victims should speak out. Victims of sexual abuse as well as victims of false accusations of sexual abuse.”
“Women Don’t Lie”
“For some in that movement, an accusation by a woman is enough to establish guilt, because ‘women don’t lie,’ and ‘women must be believed,’ about being sexually assaulted. The point these advocates are making is that women who said they were sexually assaulted have been routinely disbelieved over the years, and the time has come—indeed, it is long overdue—when the presumption should shift from disbelief to belief. There is much to be said for this view, but it must not deny the falsely accused the right to prove his innocence. There is no gender-linked gene for truth telling or lying.”
My friend, Petra, wrote an excellent review. The comments are worth reading also.
May 13, 2022
If you wanted to know what mastery is, read this book.
This is a book about a professor of law from Harvard's Law School who was accused of raping a girl on Epstein Island, and on several other places. This professor of law is not anyone you might meet on the streets. He secured a position as an assistant professor of Law at Harvard, and at age 28 became a full professor, 'at that time the youngest full professor of law in the school's history,' to quote Wikipedia's page on him. Professor Dershowitz had to solve one of the toughest cases in his life: To defend himself. One problem is that the accusation filed against him was too broad, and he had to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that he is busy -- for this special case, even though in general, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. One more problem, he was not able to deny the accusations because to deny such accusations would be equivalent to telling a young woman that her allegations of being raped when she was underage were wrong, something considered vile in US customs and law. Even if he himself was the person accused.
He developed an ingenious strategy. First of all, he absorbed everything he could get from her story, and pieced together the full story. Her own story was inconsistent. The brat accused him to get his money, and that she was being pressured by her law firm. She and her lawyers were extremely disgusting and pathetic in targetting a man like that. Many of those they targeted paid because they knew this is a lost cause. Dershowitz didn't pay her just so she could keep quiet. He challenged her to say it on TV so he could sue her. She backed away. And then she said it on NETFLIX two years after, which allowed him to file a lawsuit and demolish her case. Even if she was really raped, what gives her the right to ruin innocent people's lives? The title of the book is EXTREMELY apt: Guilt by accusation. You are guilty because you were accused. The case feels like an action thriller.
He even asked the FBI to openly investigate him. He opened his e-mails for all to see, and they wanted to take the files. Dershowitz told them to write the whole notes down, anything they wanted, but not take the file itself. (That was to avoid a loophole.) They were miserable. He went after them one by one and gave the law firm that attacked him one punch after another. They really made a TERRIBLE mistake in coming after this guy. If you wanted to know what mastery is, read this book.
This is a book about a professor of law from Harvard's Law School who was accused of raping a girl on Epstein Island, and on several other places. This professor of law is not anyone you might meet on the streets. He secured a position as an assistant professor of Law at Harvard, and at age 28 became a full professor, 'at that time the youngest full professor of law in the school's history,' to quote Wikipedia's page on him. Professor Dershowitz had to solve one of the toughest cases in his life: To defend himself. One problem is that the accusation filed against him was too broad, and he had to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that he is busy -- for this special case, even though in general, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. One more problem, he was not able to deny the accusations because to deny such accusations would be equivalent to telling a young woman that her allegations of being raped when she was underage were wrong, something considered vile in US customs and law. Even if he himself was the person accused.
He developed an ingenious strategy. First of all, he absorbed everything he could get from her story, and pieced together the full story. Her own story was inconsistent. The brat accused him to get his money, and that she was being pressured by her law firm. She and her lawyers were extremely disgusting and pathetic in targetting a man like that. Many of those they targeted paid because they knew this is a lost cause. Dershowitz didn't pay her just so she could keep quiet. He challenged her to say it on TV so he could sue her. She backed away. And then she said it on NETFLIX two years after, which allowed him to file a lawsuit and demolish her case. Even if she was really raped, what gives her the right to ruin innocent people's lives? The title of the book is EXTREMELY apt: Guilt by accusation. You are guilty because you were accused. The case feels like an action thriller.
He even asked the FBI to openly investigate him. He opened his e-mails for all to see, and they wanted to take the files. Dershowitz told them to write the whole notes down, anything they wanted, but not take the file itself. (That was to avoid a loophole.) They were miserable. He went after them one by one and gave the law firm that attacked him one punch after another. They really made a TERRIBLE mistake in coming after this guy. If you wanted to know what mastery is, read this book.
August 29, 2020
Wow! Totally vindicated!
It can happen to you: that's the main lesson to take from this book. Even if you're completely innocent, someone can make an accusation and stain you for life. Smashing detail from a man I'm now respecting a lot more.
It can happen to you: that's the main lesson to take from this book. Even if you're completely innocent, someone can make an accusation and stain you for life. Smashing detail from a man I'm now respecting a lot more.
April 2, 2020
This is an interesting book. Dershowitz attempts to set the record straight from his perspective. Dershowitz makes a compelling argument against his accuser and her attorneys. With the creation of the cancel culture, #MeToo and other movements and organizations, we have seen a devolvement of the legal system once founded and rooted in "innocent until proven guilty". It has now been turned on its head. It is now guilty until proven innocent, proof be damned.
Dershowitz walks you through the evidence and is able to show exculpatory documents, recording, and fillings that exonerate him. He even requested that FBI investigate him. He initiated it, not the accuser. However, it seemed that the accuser's attorneys refuse to do the right thing and have the accuser testify under oath and threat of perjury what her story is.
I do believe women should report sex crimes against them. There have been too many victims of such crimes. However I do NOT ascribe to the new legal system where all it takes is a woman to accuse you of something and destroy your life regardless of it being true or not. I am positive that if the shoe were on the other foot and the US adopted some of the Sharia type beliefs where women need to have four male witnesses to prove rape, the "movement" would take on a different role with different goals.
The book is not his best work. It is short coming in at 168 pages including the table of contents. And quite frankly did read a little whiny, but the content was interesting despite that. It shows the sleaziness of the profession. Hopefully it is the exception and not the rule; although I believe its the latter and not the former.
What I found appalling is how someone can make accusation about you and then when you come out and call them a lier, they can sue you for defamation. It is a lose-lose scenario. Thankfully for him, he is an attorney and can fight the fight better and cheaper than others.
Dershowitz walks you through the evidence and is able to show exculpatory documents, recording, and fillings that exonerate him. He even requested that FBI investigate him. He initiated it, not the accuser. However, it seemed that the accuser's attorneys refuse to do the right thing and have the accuser testify under oath and threat of perjury what her story is.
I do believe women should report sex crimes against them. There have been too many victims of such crimes. However I do NOT ascribe to the new legal system where all it takes is a woman to accuse you of something and destroy your life regardless of it being true or not. I am positive that if the shoe were on the other foot and the US adopted some of the Sharia type beliefs where women need to have four male witnesses to prove rape, the "movement" would take on a different role with different goals.
The book is not his best work. It is short coming in at 168 pages including the table of contents. And quite frankly did read a little whiny, but the content was interesting despite that. It shows the sleaziness of the profession. Hopefully it is the exception and not the rule; although I believe its the latter and not the former.
What I found appalling is how someone can make accusation about you and then when you come out and call them a lier, they can sue you for defamation. It is a lose-lose scenario. Thankfully for him, he is an attorney and can fight the fight better and cheaper than others.
March 21, 2020
An Eye-Opener
It is obvious that some of our laws need to be re-visited. Hopefully, this will happen in the near future.
It is obvious that some of our laws need to be re-visited. Hopefully, this will happen in the near future.
Read
March 19, 2022This is an odd book. I purchased it on Kindle mostly because it was free, and I've always found Alan Dershowitz to be an interesting man. His staunch upholding of liberal values always seemed to clash with his brash embrace of the spotlight and his high profile, seemingly guilty clients. Here was a man that loved the camera so much, he had taken to defending Donald Trump. I found the title of the book to be a bold one, but not entirely without a point to be made. I was skeptical that Dershowitz was the man for the job, given his entanglement with Epstein, et al.
The main problem with this book is that it really doesn't engage with it's title. This book is entirely about Dershowtiz's rejection of accusations made against him by Virginia Giuffre, a woman/girl that Epstein trafficked. Until reading this I had only been vaguely aware of the accusations against Dershowitz (mainly that the committed statutory rape of this woman when she was underage). I had assumed there was something to this, but hadn't really read much on it. I now regret that. While it's true that Dershowitz is a trained lawyer (one of the best, at that) and that this book is just one side, he makes an extremely compelling case, laying out step by step why the accusations couldn't possibly be true. And he has receipts. Good lord does he have receipts.
This is a short book, coming in around 150 quick pages. I was able to read it in a day. An entertaining read, and I understand why Dershowitz wrote it, but I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made a better essay in the New Yorker or something similar.
The main problem with this book is that it really doesn't engage with it's title. This book is entirely about Dershowtiz's rejection of accusations made against him by Virginia Giuffre, a woman/girl that Epstein trafficked. Until reading this I had only been vaguely aware of the accusations against Dershowitz (mainly that the committed statutory rape of this woman when she was underage). I had assumed there was something to this, but hadn't really read much on it. I now regret that. While it's true that Dershowitz is a trained lawyer (one of the best, at that) and that this book is just one side, he makes an extremely compelling case, laying out step by step why the accusations couldn't possibly be true. And he has receipts. Good lord does he have receipts.
This is a short book, coming in around 150 quick pages. I was able to read it in a day. An entertaining read, and I understand why Dershowitz wrote it, but I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made a better essay in the New Yorker or something similar.
February 9, 2020
Absolute Read!!!
I don`t reccommend many books to the extent that I reccomend this one. The issues discussed in this book by Mr. Dershowitz should send shivers down everyone`s back. Our society has already reached a dangerous point of rationalizing "if it sounds right, it must be true." There is hardly a subject discussed that doesn't fit into this mold today. Evidence haa little value to those that take that position.
As is pointed out in the text, the current legal system is in collusion with this process. What may have been originally thought to have been a proper and consistant process to protect the rights of the accussor has grown into a catch-22 with the collusion of an ultra-liberial media and unscrupulous lawyers. To hope that this may be corrected requires a lot of hope indeed.
To repeat a passage by Eric Hoffer as stated in the book, "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." The #MeToo organization could be said to have started down that path, but it may have gone too quickly through the movement stage, skipped the business stage, and is now plunging headlong on the precipice of degenerating into only a racket. The idea that all men lie and all women don't lie is the first jump over the edge.
I don`t reccommend many books to the extent that I reccomend this one. The issues discussed in this book by Mr. Dershowitz should send shivers down everyone`s back. Our society has already reached a dangerous point of rationalizing "if it sounds right, it must be true." There is hardly a subject discussed that doesn't fit into this mold today. Evidence haa little value to those that take that position.
As is pointed out in the text, the current legal system is in collusion with this process. What may have been originally thought to have been a proper and consistant process to protect the rights of the accussor has grown into a catch-22 with the collusion of an ultra-liberial media and unscrupulous lawyers. To hope that this may be corrected requires a lot of hope indeed.
To repeat a passage by Eric Hoffer as stated in the book, "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." The #MeToo organization could be said to have started down that path, but it may have gone too quickly through the movement stage, skipped the business stage, and is now plunging headlong on the precipice of degenerating into only a racket. The idea that all men lie and all women don't lie is the first jump over the edge.
May 14, 2020
I didn't particularly like the book. I really thought the same thing was being said over and over again. I certainly got the point and it is definitely well documented. I'm giving it 4 stars because it is a topic that needs attention and this is the most detailed book I've seen.
The briefest of brief summaries:
~Clients make accusations
~Accusations are made in court to protect from defamation suits
~Accusations are then leaked to the media ruining men, families, and careers before they get a fair trial
Other notes:
~The author was a lawyer of Epstein so he does come into play
~Sex trafficking is also part of this story but not a focus of it
This particular man has a pretty solid case of innocence. It seems rather unfair that he should be judged by the media and therefore the world before he stands trial. There have been a great number of these cases since the hashtag Me Too movement started in 2017. I believe woman need to speak up against sexual violence. I also believe in a fair trial. I am afraid we have not learned how to balance the two. It is disgusting that woman are abused in this way. It is equally disgusting that woman make false accusations.
Because we know *all the things* get leaked to the media, and we know the media isn't always on the up and up, we really need to be discerning.
The briefest of brief summaries:
~Clients make accusations
~Accusations are made in court to protect from defamation suits
~Accusations are then leaked to the media ruining men, families, and careers before they get a fair trial
Other notes:
~The author was a lawyer of Epstein so he does come into play
~Sex trafficking is also part of this story but not a focus of it
This particular man has a pretty solid case of innocence. It seems rather unfair that he should be judged by the media and therefore the world before he stands trial. There have been a great number of these cases since the hashtag Me Too movement started in 2017. I believe woman need to speak up against sexual violence. I also believe in a fair trial. I am afraid we have not learned how to balance the two. It is disgusting that woman are abused in this way. It is equally disgusting that woman make false accusations.
Because we know *all the things* get leaked to the media, and we know the media isn't always on the up and up, we really need to be discerning.
April 20, 2020
Don't read this book late at night - it will keep you awake. Injustice - no matter what it looks like - is still injustice. This brilliant man was accused by a woman of rape - when she was a minor. Problem was - Professor Dershowitz never met her - wasn't there - and could easily prove this. No matter - in the Me, too age - being accused is enough to destroy a man's reputation. Add in slimy attorneys and "journalists" willing to promulgate the falsehood you have the perfect storm. The false premise that women do not lie about something so horrible sadly is not true: Duke lacrosse stripper who lied - coupled with 88 professors who apparently never read the Constitution and an avaricious prosecutor - another storm. Isolated incident? How about the UVA coed who claimed a gang rape - Rolling Stone author who didn't check ONE SINGLE FACT, stating she was "credible". Unfortunately, she had made the entire story up. More recently? Accuser of Justice Kavanaugh - recounts on National TV sordid details of assault - again, not one word was backed up by a single person - including accuser's best friend - and a man's reputation is gone. A must read - it's short which is good because I could only lose so many night's sleep.
April 8, 2020
This is a super quick read, and quite interesting. Horowitz outlines the accusations made against him. He describes a loophole in our justice system that allows people to falsely accuse someone in court documents (as long as they don't make the same accusations publicly) and then leak that information to the media. They can't be sued, but they can sue the accused for defamation if that person calls them a liar or vigorously denies the accusation. He shows how this can undermine legitimate claims, and turn the #metoo movement into a racket instead of a movement that truly helps victims. Good read.
August 24, 2020
In August 2019, newly unsealed court documents revealed a telling 2011 email exchange between the Mail on Sunday journalist Sharon Churcher and Virginia Roberts Guiffre, a former employee of Jeffrey Epstein who these days is usually described in the media as Epstein’s “victim” or “former sex slave”. Guiffre was attempting to put together a book about her time with Epstein, and she had already provided an account to Churcher that had formed the basis for a Mail on Sunday article, including a sensational private photo that showed her posing for a shot with Prince Andrew’s arm around her waist.
Guiffre wrote to Churcher asking “if you have any information on you from when you and I were doing interviews about the J.E. [Jeffrey Epstein] story”, particularly as regards names of “pedo’s” (sic) “that J.E. sent me to”. Churcher replied: “Don’t forget Alan Dershowitz… J.E.’s buddy and lawyer…good name for your pitch... We all suspect Alan is a pedo and tho no proof”.
Guiffre went on to accuse Dershowitz in court filings in 2014, and much of Guilt by Accusation consists of Dershowitz’s case – backed up with documentation – that her claims about him are lies. Dershowitz states that he has never even met Guiffre, and that he can demonstrate that he was elsewhere during the period in which Guiffre says she had sexual encounters with him at various locations. While acknowledging that Guiffre may have indeed been abused by older men, he also claims that she has lied about other matters, including downwardly revising the age at which she became involved with Epstein.
One detail, Dershowitz writes, is “that Guiffre had been paid $160,000 by the Daily Mail to accuse several men, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and his then-wife Tipper of having been entertained by Epstein on his notorious island", when the reality was that the Gores were not acquainted with Epstein. The sentence here is slightly clumsy, indicating a rush job editorially (“Tipper” appears on a list of “several men”), and it overstates the paper’s role in directing Guiffre’s narrative. Nevertheless, when a source sells their story we should be wary of sensationalism, and the subsequent Churcher email exchange is troubling for what it shows about how an allegation may be generated. The plain reading is that Guiffre had no knowledge of Dershowitz until his name was brought to her attention as someone who – in a journalist’s opinion – could be plausibly accused.
As yet, this disclosure has not become a subject of controversy in the UK, despite long-standing concerns about press standards, and criticisms of bad faith reporting aimed at Mail group titles in particular (the paper was actually the Daily Mail’s sister title, the Mail on Sunday, but the two papers share the same website and are often conflated – at one point while documenting his case Dershowitz fails to recognise “mos” as being the abbreviation “MoS”).
This lack of interest may in part be due to Dershowitz’s unsympathetic public persona, but it also reflects a mood in which Guiffre enjoys a presumption of credibility due to the “Me Too” movement. As Dershowitz writes:
Dershowitz is careful to clarify that he is not attacking the aims of the movement, insofar as women with genuine grievances are now less likely to be dismissed, but that it risks being undermined by false accusers.
He is also critical of how he has been profiled in the media, accusing the much-praised Julie Brown of the Miami Herald of unethical journalism, and lamenting a failure of nerve at the Daily Beast, which spiked a story over “fear of being criticized for not believing an alleged victim”. This was after the site’s Lachlan Cartwright had written to him to express outrage at the Churcher emails. Dershowitz also documents how a profile about him in the New Yorker by Connie Bruck resorted to including false information derived from an unequivocally anti-Semitic website. In his assessment:
Boies is also a target of Dershowitz’s polemic: he believes the lawyer pressured Guiffre into accusing him as a strategy to persuade other people she was accusing privately to settle discretely. More than once (there is an element of passionate repetition in the text), Dershowitz makes the point that Guiffre has declined to make her allegation outside of court, where she would be legally liable, and he rails against the injustice that an allegation can be protected in this way while a defence outside of court that denounces an accuser as a liar is actionable. Dershowitz also introduces what we might call “bad character” evidence against Boies, noting various instances where he was formerly found to have had conflicts of interest.
“Me Too”, it seems to me, is only part of the wider context here. On the day I finished reading this book, a video on social media showed a mob in London aggressively chanting “paedophiles” through the main gate of Buckingham Palace. Their target was obviously Prince Andrew, and banners referred to “Westminster pedos”. It appears that the Epstein scandal is compensatory for repeatedly failed predictions about the imminent exposure of “VIP abusers” in both the UK and the USA (I reviewed a book about Operation Midland here). The broader story here is no longer so much “the Age of #MeToo” as “the Rise of QAnon”.
(Footnote: the book also addresses a second accuser, one Sarah Ransome, who apparently has a history of making fantastical claims.)
Guiffre wrote to Churcher asking “if you have any information on you from when you and I were doing interviews about the J.E. [Jeffrey Epstein] story”, particularly as regards names of “pedo’s” (sic) “that J.E. sent me to”. Churcher replied: “Don’t forget Alan Dershowitz… J.E.’s buddy and lawyer…good name for your pitch... We all suspect Alan is a pedo and tho no proof”.
Guiffre went on to accuse Dershowitz in court filings in 2014, and much of Guilt by Accusation consists of Dershowitz’s case – backed up with documentation – that her claims about him are lies. Dershowitz states that he has never even met Guiffre, and that he can demonstrate that he was elsewhere during the period in which Guiffre says she had sexual encounters with him at various locations. While acknowledging that Guiffre may have indeed been abused by older men, he also claims that she has lied about other matters, including downwardly revising the age at which she became involved with Epstein.
One detail, Dershowitz writes, is “that Guiffre had been paid $160,000 by the Daily Mail to accuse several men, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and his then-wife Tipper of having been entertained by Epstein on his notorious island", when the reality was that the Gores were not acquainted with Epstein. The sentence here is slightly clumsy, indicating a rush job editorially (“Tipper” appears on a list of “several men”), and it overstates the paper’s role in directing Guiffre’s narrative. Nevertheless, when a source sells their story we should be wary of sensationalism, and the subsequent Churcher email exchange is troubling for what it shows about how an allegation may be generated. The plain reading is that Guiffre had no knowledge of Dershowitz until his name was brought to her attention as someone who – in a journalist’s opinion – could be plausibly accused.
As yet, this disclosure has not become a subject of controversy in the UK, despite long-standing concerns about press standards, and criticisms of bad faith reporting aimed at Mail group titles in particular (the paper was actually the Daily Mail’s sister title, the Mail on Sunday, but the two papers share the same website and are often conflated – at one point while documenting his case Dershowitz fails to recognise “mos” as being the abbreviation “MoS”).
This lack of interest may in part be due to Dershowitz’s unsympathetic public persona, but it also reflects a mood in which Guiffre enjoys a presumption of credibility due to the “Me Too” movement. As Dershowitz writes:
[In 2015] my private life returned to what it had been before the accusation against me had been proven totally false. The along came the #MeToo movement and everything changed… Much of the media, especially but not exclusively the social media, bought into the narrative of guilt by accusation instead of proof.
Dershowitz is careful to clarify that he is not attacking the aims of the movement, insofar as women with genuine grievances are now less likely to be dismissed, but that it risks being undermined by false accusers.
He is also critical of how he has been profiled in the media, accusing the much-praised Julie Brown of the Miami Herald of unethical journalism, and lamenting a failure of nerve at the Daily Beast, which spiked a story over “fear of being criticized for not believing an alleged victim”. This was after the site’s Lachlan Cartwright had written to him to express outrage at the Churcher emails. Dershowitz also documents how a profile about him in the New Yorker by Connie Bruck resorted to including false information derived from an unequivocally anti-Semitic website. In his assessment:
Both [New Yorker editor David] Remmick and Bruch have relationships with [Guiffre’s lawyer David] Boies, and both despise President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel. Destroying me suited all their agendas.
Boies is also a target of Dershowitz’s polemic: he believes the lawyer pressured Guiffre into accusing him as a strategy to persuade other people she was accusing privately to settle discretely. More than once (there is an element of passionate repetition in the text), Dershowitz makes the point that Guiffre has declined to make her allegation outside of court, where she would be legally liable, and he rails against the injustice that an allegation can be protected in this way while a defence outside of court that denounces an accuser as a liar is actionable. Dershowitz also introduces what we might call “bad character” evidence against Boies, noting various instances where he was formerly found to have had conflicts of interest.
“Me Too”, it seems to me, is only part of the wider context here. On the day I finished reading this book, a video on social media showed a mob in London aggressively chanting “paedophiles” through the main gate of Buckingham Palace. Their target was obviously Prince Andrew, and banners referred to “Westminster pedos”. It appears that the Epstein scandal is compensatory for repeatedly failed predictions about the imminent exposure of “VIP abusers” in both the UK and the USA (I reviewed a book about Operation Midland here). The broader story here is no longer so much “the Age of #MeToo” as “the Rise of QAnon”.
(Footnote: the book also addresses a second accuser, one Sarah Ransome, who apparently has a history of making fantastical claims.)
December 23, 2020
Every one. Every one. I mean EVERY ONE should read this book. We are living in dangerous times when so called "journalists" feel free to publish things without doing due diligence on fact checking and have left objectivity at the front door. I remember hearing about "Yellow dog journalism" as a young girl in school & thought we had moved beyond that. Maybe we did but we have certainly reverted back to it This book is about Mr. Dershowitz's experience as a victim of the #metoo movement that felt we should believe women when they fling accusations without proof and thereby stripping the accused of any presumption of innocence. Of course, true sexual harassment/abuse should not be tolerated & should be punished. But in America, we are supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty". And yet this man's story is an example of how a highly respected legal scholar, with no other scandals attributed to him, became a victim of the MSM/fake news and corrupt lawyers.
March 25, 2022
Dershowitz probably didn't want to risk an editor touching a single word of this, but it could've used some copy editing, if only to fix the typos. But that's small potatoes. This is compelling. I'm so glad I read it. A big thank you to my Goodreads friend, John, whose review made me go straight to the library.
February 14, 2024
Boy, that's a lot of ink spent to destroy the author's own reputation. Didn't have any strong opinions on Mr. Dershowitz before reading this (in either direction) and all I can think about after going through the whole book is "why the heck would you represent Jeffrey freaking Epstein? Does he have dirt on you? And why are you so vigorously defending against Victoria Giuffre?".
January 15, 2023
I enjoyed this book very much. I was saddened when Dershowitz was no longer on news shows giving his opinions. Although controversial at times, his very strong stance on protecting the constitution has always impressed me. For that reason, as well as the power of the title, I chose to read it.
Guilt by accusation, is something that Dershowitz righteously argues can destroy one’s credibility, career, life-savings, friendships, and ultimately change the course of one’s life without ever being charged of a crime. HOW AWFUL. It’s the idea of a rumor gone viral by greed, corruption and the believability and power that the media can have on our society.
Dershowitz argues that he did everything he tells his clients NOT to do because he had nothing to hide. In a sense, he becomes his own victim by believing in a Justice system that outside of the courtroom, may not prevail. Added insult to injury, Dershowitz displays naivety in the sense that people he has known as colleagues and “friends” are trustworthy protectors, and will defend his innocence. Dershowitz’s belief in due process, and the elegance of assuming innocence until proven guilty, is what makes this wretched period in his life particularly miserable. In a sense, he is betrayed by everything he has believed in. The ONLY reason I rated the book 4 out of 5 stars, vs. 5/5, is because at some point in an evidence based argument, the case can be rested without having to present every single item. One can simply say, the case is made and if you need more evidence, it’s provided in the epilogue. In other words, Dershowitz provides such detailed evidence and precision in argument that I simply wanted to say, “Case Dismissed.”
Guilt by accusation, is something that Dershowitz righteously argues can destroy one’s credibility, career, life-savings, friendships, and ultimately change the course of one’s life without ever being charged of a crime. HOW AWFUL. It’s the idea of a rumor gone viral by greed, corruption and the believability and power that the media can have on our society.
Dershowitz argues that he did everything he tells his clients NOT to do because he had nothing to hide. In a sense, he becomes his own victim by believing in a Justice system that outside of the courtroom, may not prevail. Added insult to injury, Dershowitz displays naivety in the sense that people he has known as colleagues and “friends” are trustworthy protectors, and will defend his innocence. Dershowitz’s belief in due process, and the elegance of assuming innocence until proven guilty, is what makes this wretched period in his life particularly miserable. In a sense, he is betrayed by everything he has believed in. The ONLY reason I rated the book 4 out of 5 stars, vs. 5/5, is because at some point in an evidence based argument, the case can be rested without having to present every single item. One can simply say, the case is made and if you need more evidence, it’s provided in the epilogue. In other words, Dershowitz provides such detailed evidence and precision in argument that I simply wanted to say, “Case Dismissed.”
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