Alan Dershowitz, the 87-year-old lawyer and former Harvard professor, caused a lot of controversy this week. He defended Jeffrey Epstein on NewsNation with Chris Cuomo. He said Epsteinβs crimes were not technically pedophilia. Many people disagreed.
βThe predecessor on your show described Epstein as a convicted pedophile,β Dershowitz told Cuomo. β[Epstein] pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. Thatβs not a pedophile.β
Dershowitz: The predecessor on your show described Epstein as a convicted pedophile. He pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. Thatβs not a pedophile. pic.twitter.com/cz5r6S2gan
β Acyn (@Acyn) November 15, 2025
He was talking about Epsteinβs 2008 plea deal. Epstein got only 13 months in a work-release program. He avoided federal charges and long prison time. The case involved many underage girls. Some were as young as 14.
A 2020 Justice Department report said the plea deal was too easy and let Epstein off lightly.
Dershowitz also had a close relationship with Epstein. He was both a friend and a lawyer. This made people question his defense.
Virginia Giuffre, a survivor of Epstein, said Dershowitz was forced into sexual activity on Epsteinβs plane. Dershowitz denied this. He said he received a massage at Epsteinβs house while keeping his underwear on and claimed he did not enjoy it.
Many people called Dershowitzβs defense βhorrifying.β They said he focused too much on legal details and ignored the bigger picture.
This is horrifying. A grown man splitting hairs to sanitize the exploitation of a 17βyearβold is not a legal argument, it is moral rot. When elites start redefining abuse to protect their circle, you are watching the normalization of predation in real time.
β Chetter π’π½βπ Beacon for Democracy (@ChetterHub) November 15, 2025
Thatβs a pedophile. Full stop.
Donβt let these disgusting Republicans rebrand child abuse like itβs a bad Yelp review.A grown man buying sex from a 17-year-old isnβt βtechnically not a pedophile.β
Itβs exploitation. Itβs predatory. Itβs illegal.
And itβs always the same creepsβ¦β Frank C (@FrankC164) November 15, 2025
Watch this video only focused on Cuomoβs face. His thought bubble would be saying:
βWTF did I do to my career?!? I have to pretend Dershowitz hasnβt gone full crazy-pantsβ¦ Wait, is he really trying to make the case that Epstein wasnβt a pedophile?!? Should I pretend Iβm havingβ¦β Doc Rocktails (@C_Rocktails) November 15, 2025
Dershowitzβs comments also brought attention back to President Donald Trump. Trump knew Epstein and had connections with his friends. Trump has tried to distance himself from Epstein while keeping ties with some of Epsteinβs associates.
During the interview, Dershowitz kept repeating that the law is clear. βThatβs not a pedophile,β he said. βLegally, that is a conviction for soliciting sex from a person almost 18 years old.β
Dershowitz has a long history of defending famous and controversial people. He defended Trump during the impeachment trial in 2020. He often focuses on narrow legal points. His Epstein defense was similar.
Featured image via Youtube screengrab
