So, Alan Dershowitz has announced he will defend Mr. MyPillow attempting to quash a subpoena for his phone records because Dershowitz says the subpoena is only because Lindell is asking questions. And no matter how much he himself might disagree with those questions as a “liberal Democrat” (yes, he made sure that get that in there, no doubt still hoping he’ll still get invited to a party on Martha’s Vineyard…) that is Mr. MyPillow’s First Amendment right.
Yes, seriously, that is the argument Alan Dershowitz is going to make in court. And he hopes to get the case heard and not thrown out on its ear without sanctions for wasting the court’s time? Hopefully, someone will explain to Mr. Dershowitz – since he apparently is unaware, which is odd because it was in all the news – that the subpoena is because the House Select Committee clearly thinks he might have information on the coup attempt…based on the fact he MET WITH TRUMP! And they want to find out who he talked to, in case he was perhaps a conduit for trying to overthrow the government. Dershowitz says that even though he himself might not have any issue with the legitimacy of the election, they are legitimate questions under the First Amendment. It seems clear that “legitimate” is his word of the day. And while it’s probably a perfectly good word for a lawyer to use, I really wish he’d have chosen a different one, because it creates a problematic public perception. I think that to the public, when they hear a lawyer claim that his client asked a legitimate question about the legitimacy of the elections, it sounds very much like he’s saying the questions themselves are pertinent and have value, deserving answers. However, I suspect he’s only using the word “legitimate” in the courtroom-sense that they are “legal” under the First Amendment. That’s the word that I think would have been significantly better to use for making the point he intends, rather than looking like a loon, no matter how much he says he disagrees with the question. For the record, of course, almost any question is “legitimate” under the First Amendment. Including "Is the MyPillow so lumpy that it may be the worst pillow ever made?" By the way, Dershowitz also says that there is "No question" the committee is going after Lindell only “because he's a Trump supporter”. No question?? None?! Ha, I look forward to the Committee’s attorney explaining to the court that, in fact, they have a great many questions for Mike Lindell, which is explicitly why they believe it’s important to get his records following his meetings with Trump. But there’s one larger issue at hand when Alan Dershowitz says that in trying to explain why he was defending Mike Lindell. To be clear, if Mr. Dershowitz wants to try and defend this somehow as a First Amendment case, albeit what seems like a fast-losing one, given Lindell’s meetings with Trump and his subsequent actions putting on events with insurrectionists and filing lawsuits to help undermine the election, that’s fine. But when Dershowitz claims that the House Select Committee is going after Lindell for reasons that are only political, “because he is a Trump supporter,” then he is being profoundly divisive, playing into the strategy of Trump, Steve Bannon, Mo Brooks, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor-Greene and the leading insurrectionists, and doing very real damage to the country. One may ask if Alan Dershowitz has lost all respect he built up during his career and is now just seen as a crazy man trying to get on TV defending what has been described by many as a fascist administration? I’m not saying that’s the case – only that it’s a legitimate question under the First Amendment.
1 Comment
Douglass Abramson
1/12/2022 08:28:39 pm
One may ask if Mr Dershowitz is skimming off of his client's daily (alleged) nose candy supply.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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