Jeffrey Epstein’s Lawyer on His ‘Clients’: I Know Who They Are
Jeffrey
Epstein’s former lawyer has weighed in on the heated controversy surrounding
his “client list”—and his ties to President Donald Trump.
Alan Dershowitz, a high-profile defense
attorney who joined Epstein’s legal team in 2005 when he was under
investigation for sexual relations with underage girls, revealed in a Tuesday
op-ed for The Wall Street Journal that Epstein “never
created a ‘client list.’
There
was, however, more to the story.
“The FBI interviewed alleged victims who
named several ‘clients.’ These names have been redacted,” he wrote. “They
should be disclosed but the courts have ordered them sealed. I know who they
are. They don’t include any current officeholders. We don’t know whether the
accusations are true.”
Dershowitz, who has represented big names like O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, and Trump himself during his first impeachment trial, sought to distance the president from the disgraced financier”
But Trump and Epstein have described
their relationship as more than just an acquaintance.
In a 2017
interview, Epstein said: “I was Donald’s closest friend for 10
years.” In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15
years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he
likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger
side.”
Dershowitz also argued that it was “clear from the evidence that Epstein committed suicide.” The convicted sex offender was found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019.
“What isn’t clear is whether he was assisted by jail personnel,” Dershowitz
said. “That seems likely to me, based on the evidence of allegedly broken
cameras, transfer of his cellmate and the absence of guards during relevant
time periods.”
Last week, the Justice Department released nearly
11 hours of CCTV footage from the jail on the day of Epstein’s death. An
analysis by Wired citing video forensics experts,
however, concluded that the footage was likely modified, further fueling
conspiracy theories that he was murdered.
Dershowitz denied another theory floated
by conservative host Tucker Carlson that Epstein had ties to the Israeli
government.
“I
have absolutely no doubt that Epstein never worked for any intelligence
agency,” he said, citing confirmation from his sources in Israel. “If he had,
he would surely have told me and his other lawyers, who would have used that
information to get him a better deal.”
“There is nothing more annoying to
gossip mongers than when stubborn facts (or the absence of facts) get in the
way of a juicy theory,” Dershowitz concluded. “Sorry to disappoint you, but
there is really nothing much to see here, beyond what has already been
disclosed.”
MAGAworld erupted in uproar after the
Justice Department and the FBI announced in a bombshell memo earlier
this month that there is no client list and Epstein indeed died by suicide,
letting down the Trump faithful who hung on to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s
comments in February that
the notorious Epstein files were “sitting” on her desk.
Trump
Won’t Say If He’s In Epstein Files As MAGA Rages
Earlier
on Tuesday, Trump said Bondi briefed him on the Epstein files but kept it vague
when asked if he was named in them.
“No, no, she’s given us just a very
quick briefing and in terms of the credibility of the different things that
they’ve seen,” he told reporters. “But she’s handling it very well and whatever
she thinks is credible she’s going to release it.”
Courtesy of www.thedailybeast.com
