Alan Dershowitz is a prominent Harvard Law School professor emeritus and criminal defense attorney who served as legal counsel for Jeffrey Epstein during Epstein's 2006-2008 Florida criminal case and continued advising him in subsequent litigation. The archive documents 216 emails between 2009 and 2019, revealing extensive legal strategy coordination with Epstein's defense team. Dershowitz was himself accused of sexual misconduct by Virginia Giuffre (formerly Virginia Roberts) in a 2015 federal court filing, alleging she was trafficked to him as a minor. These allegations became the subject of protracted litigation, including a defamation lawsuit Dershowitz filed against Giuffre's attorneys Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell. In 2016, Edwards and Cassell withdrew their allegations against Dershowitz, stating "it was a mistake to have filed sexual misconduct accusations against Dershowitz." Dershowitz has categorically and repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.
Background#
Alan Morton Dershowitz is a prominent American lawyer, legal scholar, and political commentator who taught at Harvard Law School from 1964 to 2013. He became a full professor at age 28, one of the youngest in Harvard's history, and specialized in constitutional law, criminal law, and civil liberties. Dershowitz gained national prominence through his involvement in high-profile criminal cases, including his work on the defense teams for Claus von Bülow, O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, and numerous other celebrity clients. He is a prolific author of books on law, politics, and Jewish affairs, and has been a frequent media commentator on legal issues.
Dershowitz's connection to Jeffrey Epstein first became public through his representation of Epstein during the 2006-2008 Florida criminal investigation and prosecution. Court documents show Dershowitz was part of Epstein's legal "dream team" that negotiated the controversial non-prosecution agreement with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta. In 2019, the Miami Herald's investigation into the Acosta plea deal brought renewed scrutiny to Dershowitz's role, winning a Hillman Prize for journalism.
Correspondence with Epstein#
The archive contains 216 emails involving Dershowitz spanning March 2009 to April 2019, with 138 distinct threads. Dershowitz appears as sender in 78 emails and as recipient in 138. The correspondence reveals sustained collaboration on legal strategy, particularly during periods of intensified litigation and media scrutiny.
Legal Representation and Strategy Coordination
Dershowitz served as Epstein's attorney during the 2006-2008 Florida criminal case and continued advising on subsequent civil litigation. In February 2015, Epstein forwarded Dershowitz a billing invoice from attorney Kendall Coffey for work on "the federal case," with Dershowitz requesting that Epstein send him a check for the billed amount so he could forward payment to Coffey. Multiple emails show coordination with other members of Epstein's legal team, including Martin Weinberg, Darren Indyke, Roy Black, Jack Goldberger, and Ken Starr.
In December 2018, Epstein circulated to his legal team—including Dershowitz—a draft defense of the 2008 plea agreement authored by Ken Starr. The draft argued that Epstein had been subjected to "an unprecedented federal intrusion" and characterized the case as "solicitation of prostitution," a state crime. Starr's draft described Epstein as "our former client -- and now-friend." Epstein sought feedback from his attorneys on publishing this defense in response to negative media coverage.
In March 2019, after renewed criticism of the Acosta plea deal, Epstein coordinated a response to a New York Times editorial, emailing Dershowitz, Starr, Weinberg, Kathy Ruemmler, and Indyke with talking points emphasizing that "5 professional criminal defense attorney somehow colluded with alex acosta is preposterous" and noting the case involved "a florida case of sex for money".
The Giuffre Allegations and Coordinated Defense
The most intensive correspondence occurred in February 2015, immediately after Virginia Giuffre filed a motion to join ongoing Crime Victims' Rights Act litigation, which included allegations that she had been sexually trafficked to Dershowitz. The archive contains extended email exchanges between Epstein and Dershowitz on February 9, 2015, discussing response strategy.
Dershowitz wrote: "I say I'm not afraid if fbi has videos because I know I'm not on them. A guilty person would be frightened of videos, not knowing whether he is on any. An innocent person like me wants there to be videos because he knows he can't be on any. It's a powerful point." Epstein responded with concern about calling for release of videos, stating "they are no videos ,, you are asking them to release MY PERSONAL photos. ? mine, what are you thinking?" Martin Weinberg mediated the dispute, informing Epstein that Dershowitz "agreed out of respect for you to eliminate the paragraphs that he was considering regarding challenges directed to obtaining evidence from the Govt whether pictures, tapes, videos, etc."
On February 12, 2015, Lesley Groff coordinated a meeting between Epstein and Dershowitz at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse, scheduling it for 3:30 PM that afternoon.
Dershowitz and Epstein also coordinated on discrediting Giuffre's claims by highlighting alleged inconsistencies. The February 9 emails show Epstein advising Dershowitz to "hit clinton gore. and focus", referring to Giuffre's claims about Bill Clinton and Al Gore visiting Epstein's island, which both Epstein and Dershowitz maintained were false.
Media Management
Multiple emails show Dershowitz forwarding media inquiries to Epstein. In March 2016, Dershowitz forwarded a New York Post inquiry about Epstein allegedly importing young women from Russia, noting "I refused to talk to Johnson". In June 2016, he forwarded a Fox News inquiry about Epstein's involvement with the Clinton Global Initiative.
In September 2016, Epstein forwarded Dershowitz excerpts from the James Patterson book about Epstein, noting "this is the part that contains more about you."
In April 2019, after the Miami Herald's investigation renewed attention on the case, Dershowitz forwarded Epstein an announcement of the 2019 Hillman Prize winners, which included the Herald's Julie K. Brown for her Epstein reporting.
Non-Legal Interactions
Beyond legal matters, emails document a personal relationship. In October 2018, Epstein emailed Dershowitz about a New York Times article on Trump's finances, complaining about the use of inflation-adjusted figures. In August 2017, when Epstein sought recommendations for a Florida civil litigator, Dershowitz recommended Chuck Lichtman, noting "He helped settle my case with Edwards"—referring to Dershowitz's own defamation litigation.
Connections#
Dershowitz's correspondence places him at the center of Epstein's legal defense network. His most frequent co-correspondents were:
- Jeffrey Epstein (127 shared emails): Principal client relationship
- Martin Weinberg (43 shared emails): Boston-based defense attorney who frequently coordinated strategy
- Darren Indyke (29 shared emails): Epstein's estate attorney
- Lesley Groff (21 shared emails): Epstein's assistant who coordinated meetings
- Jack Goldberger (19 shared emails): Florida defense attorney
- Roy Black (16 shared emails): Prominent Miami defense attorney
- Kathy Ruemmler (13 shared emails): Former White House Counsel who joined Epstein's legal team
- Ken Starr (10 shared emails): Former independent counsel and Epstein attorney
The correspondence shows coordination with this extended legal team on media strategy, litigation tactics, and public statements throughout the 2015-2019 period.
Document References#
Dershowitz appears extensively in court filings and depositions related to the Giuffre litigation. In a 2015 motion to join the CVRA case, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to multiple powerful men, including Dershowitz. Judge Kenneth Marra subsequently ordered these allegations stricken as "immaterial and impertinent" to the narrow question of joinder, finding the "lurid details" about sexual acts with non-parties unnecessary to determining whether the government violated the victims' rights under the CVRA.
Following the joinder motion, Dershowitz filed a defamation lawsuit in Broward County, Florida, against attorneys Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell, alleging they had made false and defamatory statements about him. Edwards and Cassell counterclaimed, arguing they had a good faith basis for including their client's allegations and that Dershowitz's public attacks on their professional conduct were defamatory. The Florida court filings document Dershowitz's extensive media campaign defending himself, including statements that the attorneys "will be disbarred" and were "virtually the equivalent of perjurers".
In April 2016, the parties reached a settlement. The joint statement announced that Edwards and Cassell "acknowledge that it was a mistake to have filed sexual misconduct accusations against Dershowitz; and the sexual misconduct accusations made in all public filings (including all exhibits) are hereby withdrawn." Dershowitz "also withdraw[drew] his accusations that Edwards and Cassell acted unethically." The settlement stated that "Dershowitz completely denies any such misconduct, while not disputing Roberts's statements that the underlying alleged misconduct may have occurred with someone else."
Dershowitz is also referenced in Giuffre v. Maxwell civil litigation documents, where both sides discussed his role in the broader allegations. In Maxwell's motion to dismiss, her attorneys characterized Giuffre's claims as targeting multiple "notable public figures, such as Prince Andrew and Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz." In Giuffre's opposition, her attorneys noted that another federal judge had found it unnecessary for Giuffre to detail sexual encounters with non-parties like Dershowitz in the CVRA case, but this did not preclude her from offering such testimony as a witness.
Visits to Epstein Properties#
The archive documents limited direct evidence of Dershowitz visiting Epstein properties:
Manhattan Townhouse
- February 12, 2015 - 3:30 PM meeting (email coordination)
Additional visits may have occurred but are not explicitly documented in the available correspondence. Dershowitz has publicly stated he visited Epstein's homes and traveled on his plane but always in social or professional capacities and never witnessed inappropriate conduct. The archive does not contain flight manifests or detailed visitor logs that would document the full extent of visits.