Dershowitz to Pulitzer committee: Forget Epstein series

Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz

Nominees for Pulitzer's journalism awards often are lauded by others for their work.

But famed liberal lawyer Alan Dershowitz is publicly warning the committee to avoid giving any honors to a Miami Herald series on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law, is a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, where he bluntly wrote of his concerns over the series by reporter Julie K. Brown.

"Among the leading candidates for a Pulitzer Prize in investigative journalism is the Miami Herald and its reporter Julie K. Brown for its series on the Jeffrey Epstein case. The series, however, was not based on rigorous and objective investigation, but rather on one sided, and largely false tips from self-interested lawyers who used the series to their financial advantage," he warned.

"Brown refused to investigate and/or publish highly credible information that undercut the simplistic and largely false narrative fed her by her biased sources. I know, because I have been providing her with much of the documents and information she chose to bury rather than report. Had she reported this contradictory material, she would have endangered the Pulitzer Prize she has been aiming to win. The Pulitzer committee should not reward such biased and result oriented 'reporting' by giving her the prize."

Epstein, a financier, philanthropist and registered sex offender, was convicted in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and served 12 months of work release.

But a multitude of lawsuits have alleged he ran a ring providing escorts to perform sexual acts on multiple high-profile individuals. Reports alleged Epstein flew Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey on his private jet, which was dubbed the "Lolita Express" by media.

A 53-page federal indictment was filed, but prosecutors inexplicably agreed to grant immunity to Epstein and four co-conspirators and others in exchange for a guilty plea to state charges.

That stopped the investigation cold and sealed the federal accusations. Recently, however, a judge ruled the accusers should have been told of the pending plea deal first.

"Here is the truthful narrative Brown refused to report. Every fact can be documented. At the center of Brown's story in a woman in her mid-30s named Virginia Roberts Guiffre, who has a long and documented history of lying about sexual and other encounters with famous people, including presidents, prime ministers, princes and other politicians and celebrities," Dershowitz explained. "She sold a story for $160,000 to a British scandal sheet in which she described in great detail meeting Vice President Al Gore, his then wife Tipper and President Bill Clinton on Jeffrey Epstein's Caribbean island. The only problem is that Secret Service and other records conclusively proved that none of them was ever on that Island and that the Gores didn't even know Epstein. Yet she subsequently committed perjury by swearing to these falsehoods. Among the men she accused of having sex with her when she was underage were a former Senate Majority Leader, a former United Nations Ambassador, a former Israeli Prime Minister and a head of state. She also accused Leslie Wexner, a billionaire owner of Victoria's Secret, of having underage sex with her on multiple occasions and making her wear Victoria's Secret-type lingerie. Yet her own employment records prove that she was well above the age of consent when she claims these liaisons occurred – in the unlikely event they ever occurred at all."

Then he got personal: "There is one set of allegations that I know for certain was completely made up. She accused me of having sex with her on six occasions in different places, although I have never even met her. I was fortunate enough to have travel, cell phone and AmEx records that conclusively prove that I could not have been on Epstein's Caribbean Island, New Mexico ranch, Palm Beach mansion or private airplane during the relevant time period."

He pointed out Giuffre's own lawyer found his client's claims "wrong."

"So how did Pulitzer candidate Brown deal with all this evidence discrediting her primary source? She simply omitted any mention of it and presented Giuffre as an entirely credible witness with no doubts about her truthfulness," Dershowitz charged.

"In an email to her editor which she copied me (deliberately or inadvertently) she said that I had presented no evidence that 'prove [my] innocence.' She discounted the findings of the former Federal Judge and FBI Director Louis Freeh with the following put down: '[Freeh] is a former Attorney General whose work has been questioned.' No, Freeh's investigations have been relied on by universities, corporations and other institutions throughout the world. Brown didn't even bother to call Freeh."

Dershowitz said the series was not journalism, it was "advocacy" that "would get a lawyer disciplined for willfully withholding exculpatory evidence."