Publicity hound Alan Dershowitz is starting another media blitz, defending Trump against impeachment with his biased, half-baked analysis of the U.S. Constitution. Start with the fact that Dershowitz is not now, nor ever has been, one of America’s great Constitutional scholars, several of whom appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. His very recent, contorted Constitutional defense of President Trump was not dignified by our irrefutably greatest Constitutional scholar, Professor Lawrence Tribe of Harvard Law School. Professor Tribe simply referred to Dershowitz as “wacko.” In other media interviews on C-Span and CNN, Dershowitz claimed that there cannot be a Senate trial until grounds for impeachment are established. In the world according to Dershowitz, there are none in the House impeachment articles: abuse of power, not impeachable, obstruction of Congress, not impeachable. To him, the Senate is not obliged to begin a trial. On CNN, Dershowitz rambled on about abuse of power not being a basis for impeachment, according to the writings of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of our Constitution. He was dead wrong and corrected by Jeffrey Toobin. Toobin schooled the so-called objective scholar, pointing out that the Dershowitz’ argument was confusing abuse of power with mal-administration., which was deemed by the Founders as too broad. Dershowitz finds no obstruction of justice in Trump’s behavior, despite the President’s blanket refusal to allow any witnesses in the executive branch to testify or allow provision of any relevant documents. Dershowitz’ tainted reputation in his long-standing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and law suit by Virginia Giuffre for sex with her when she was an under-age girl should, alone, disqualify him from any role in the impeachment process. ************** Legacy in Ashes: Part I Alan Dershowitz “I kept my underwear on.” – Alan Derschowitz: A precipitous fall from grace for a respected law professor, legal scholar and prolific author to a diminished publicity hound who is shunned on Martha’s Vineyard, disparaged by relatives, severely criticized by Harvard colleagues, trashed on social media under the hashtag #creepyDershowitz and recently defensively protested his innocence in sex with underage girls at the mansions of sex slave trafficker, Jeffery Epstein, with the public statement “I kept my underwear on”– a repulsive word-picture, indeed. Who would have expected a formerly revered scholar to be reduced to that plaintive defense? Alan Dershowitz did not grow up in a wealthy family nor in an affluent community. He grew up in Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College. His academic discipline and high intellect enabled him to excel. He graduated first in his class from Yale Law School and held the prestigious position of Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. At 28 years old he was the youngest full Professor at Harvard Law School. Professor Dershowitz has authored many books and legal articles over his career. Known for his scholarly mind and accolades received for his work by those who are familiar with him, he has been held in high esteem. He has long championed civil liberties and proudly professes that he is often controversial, challenging the thinking of others. More recently, however, he has been asked, what happened to you? Why have you changed? His self-absorbed answer is that he hasn’t changed, the people who are so critical of him have changed. He disparages Americans who are too left leaning, politically. In his view, he is the same old Alan, a beacon of light to civil liberties, frequently comparing himself to a doctor or priest. Really? When he looks in the mirror, he sees the ultimate knight in shining armor, a characterization he would likely embrace. Somewhere along the line, Dershowitz became more enamored with being a celebrity than a professor. Although he states without data that 50% of his representation of clients has been pro bono, without payment for people who cannot afford counsel, other clients are more informative. He leveraged his Harvard credentials, in 1982, gaining a highly visible, fabulously wealthy and newsworthy client, Claus von Bulow, a Danish-British aristocrat who had been convicted of killing his heiress wife, Martha von Bulow. Dershowitz got Bulow’s conviction overturned and he was acquitted upon retrial. News on the von Bulow case was everywhere in the media. Dershowitz, personally, received great publicity and followed up with a book about his success, “Reversal of Fortune.” Dershowitz had become a celebrity. Although Professor Dershowitz was financially comfortable, by most people’s standards, visiting von Bulow at his expensive and well-adorned New York residence, gave Dershowitz a glimpse at serious wealth. Some colleagues on the Harvard Law School faculty who knew Dershowitz well saw how drawn he was to the very wealthy and very famous. Dershowitz went on to become involved in many high publicity cases involving wealthy defendants: Reverend Jim Baker, who was convicted of defrauding parishioners. Leona Helmsley, heiress to the Helmsley fortune, who was convicted of tax fraud. O.J. Simpson, perhaps the most publicized murder trial in our lifetime, where he was an appellate adviser (should the case have to be appealed). Although he said on The View that he won the case. No, you didn’t, Dersh. You weren’t the trial lawyers, they were Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey. Cochran won that case. Many believe that Dershowitz was added to the team for his Harvard credentials and the air of legitimacy he added to Simpson’s defense. Mike Tyson, after his conviction for raping an 18 year old girl who was a contestant in the Miss Black America Pageant. Others he has either represented or advised include a list of worldwide celebrities, powerful politicians and fabulously wealthy businessmen: Presidents Obama and Clinton, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Yo-Yo Ma, Sheldon Adelson and Harvey Weinstein. Dershowitz talks incessantly in public about his righteous pursuit of civil liberties, yet so many of these cases are major publicity opportunities for Dershowitz with the rich and powerful. In more recent years, Dershowitz has been hit by flak emanating from two directions, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his defense of President Trump. This article will deal with Dershowitz’ Epstein connection, now an unshakable part of his legacy. The fallout from his relationship with Epstein mushroomed, provoking deeper investigation of his history. (His relationship with Trump will be addressed in a separate part of the Dershowitz legacy.) Lie, Deny, Deflect and Attack In 2005, Epstein was charged with abuse of young women– including under-age girls. Dershowitz stated that Epstein was an “acquaintance” and could be viewed as a conflict of interest, should he represent him. He was one of Epstein’s lawyers anyway, and an important one. The characterization of Epstein as an acquaintance was a lie. The acquaintance characterization is reminiscent of Trump’s claim that Papadopoulos was an insignificant coffee boy in the Trump White House — deny and deflect. Dershowitz and Epstein were friends and as appears clear from their long-term relationship, they were close friends for at least a decade, despite Dershowitz’ revisionist history– one hazard for a guy who has sought for so long to be a public celebrity. Dershowitz had a lot of influence on Epstein’s involvement at Harvard. Epstein made donations to the school, using money and lavish entertaining to endear himself to influential people. Epstein once flew Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard University, to his Virgin Islands playground, Little St. James Island, in his private jet. Like Epstein, Leslie Wexner and Dershowitz, Summers was a strong supporter of Israel. Epstein took an advisory board position on an academic committee at Harvard and spent time with Dershowitz. In the early 2000s, Dershowitz lauded Epstein in an interview with the Harvard Crimson saying that Epstein “would benefit Harvard in a lot of ways,” was “brilliant” and was one of few people he trusted to evaluate drafts of his books, as reported by New Yorker investigative journalist, Connie Bruck. Elaborating on his friendship with Epstein, Dershowitz said that when the two talked, debating mathematics, genetics, law and psychology, “nobody finishes a sentence. We cut each other off all the time because we just get it.” See Connie Bruck, “Alan Dershowitz, Devil’s Advocate.” Dershowitz met Jeffrey Epstein in the mid to late 1990s when their friendship began. One raised in Brooklyn, the other on Coney Island, both men came from humble beginnings. Epstein spent time on Martha’s Vineyard at the professor’s summer residence. Dershowitz visited Epstein’s residences, including his 21,000 square foot Manhattan house, one of the largest in the city. If Dershowitz had been wide-eyed in von Bulow’s New York digs, Epstein’s place had to be dazzling. In 1996, Epstein invited Dershowitz to Leslie Wexner’s birthday party at his spectacular mansion in Ohio. Mr. Wexner is one of the richest and most powerful men in the U.S. who owns retail chains (e.g., The Limited and Victoria’s Secret) and other businesses. The party was attended by a number of celebrities and the rich and powerful, including former Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres. Wexner, who is Jewish, has funded Jewish charities, has long been very pro-Israel and has had close ties to multiple Israeli Prime Ministers and other powerful politicians in Israel. It is questionable whether Epstein was a billionaire or set up to appear to be one. The source of Epstein’s purported wealth has long been entirely unclear. The New York Times failed in its effort to determine where his money came from. For one thing, Wexner was revealed as a substantial investor in Epstein’s hedge fund, although no one seems to know what the hedge fund did. Wexner appears to have been Epstein’s only investor. Epstein’s mysterious “hedge fund” may have been involved in money laundering and surreptitious transfers of wealth into offshore banks. See investigative journalist Whitney Webb’s 4 part article for Mint Press, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” which does a deep dive into the dark, clandestine intelligence world and those involved. In any case, Epstein and Wexner have been close business associates for many years. Epstein’s showcase house in the heart of Manhattan was purchased and renovated by Wexner, who never lived in it. Epstein got it for a pittance. The spectacular mansion was basically given to Epstein. Epstein made substantial money in ways that he would never report, but Wexner seemed to have vaulted him into conspicuous wealth and greater influence. Clearly, Epstein knew how to gain influence and endear himself to others who would be beholden to him. Around 2005, Florida prosecutors’ and the FBI’s investigations of Epstein’s conduct produced significant evidence of his abuse of multiple women, including under-age girls and a lengthy set of indictments. With Dershowitz’s assistance, Epstein received the now infamous, secretly negotiated “non-prosecution agreement,” supported by Miami U.S. Attorney, Alexander Acosta (who later became Trump’s Secretary of Labor). Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. As we now know. that agreement resulted in an 18 month sentence, of which Epstein served 13 months and was granted a 12 hours a day work release six days a week. Most of the time, he only slept in jail and otherwise lived in his Palm Beach mansion. The non-prosecution agreement was done without consultation with victims, which is required by law. What is less well-known is that any Epstein co-conspirators were given immunity from prosecution. This is another aspect of the agreement that is unprecedented and indefensible as legal experts have opined. Certainly, immunity was intended to avoid further prosecutions. Dershowitz was his lawyer. Was the immunity of benefit to him, creating a conflict of interest for him as counsel? Thanks to seasoned investigative journalist, Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald, in her series of articles entitled, “Perversion of Justice” the secret deal in 2008 became public in 2018. Her detailed investigation revealed that Epstein’s conduct had not changed. After this public exposure, more abused girls and women came forward, claiming to have been molested by Epstein. Many of these girls were young and homeless. Ms. Brown and the Miami Herald brought renewed visibility and further charges to Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors. The #Me Too movement had to have boosted interest in and visibility of Ms. Brown’s work. In the U.S., we are (hopefully) less tolerant of abuse of women and girls. As more charges against Epstein became public, Dershowitz further distanced himself, saying that he hadn’t seen Epstein in years (which may be true) and they never had a friendship (which is not true). Attorney Paul Cassell represented Virginia Giuffre, who has stated that Epstein told her to have sex with Dershowitz and did so 6 times. Cassell sought to vacate the secret non-prosecution agreement, telling the Federal Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, that testimony of witnesses would show Dershowitz’ involvement in the alleged sex trafficking of “his close friend Jeffrey Epstein,” as the Daily Beast reported. David Boies, a renowned lawyer who successfully challenged Microsoft and previously represented Al Gore, became counsel to Virginia Giuffre. Epstein’s alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, solicited her to be Epstein’s masseuse while Giuffre was working in the locker room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Boies also represented Sarah Ronsome, who alleged that Epstein instructed her to have sex with Dershowitz. Boies stated in an affidavit he did not believe Dershowtz’s denials. For his part, Dershowitz has denied all allegations against him repeatedly on every media outlet possible. His agitated, nervous, often unsolicited rapid-fire rants raise questions. Publicly, he likes friendly forums and has appeared on The View because he has been interviewed by some air-head hosts (not Whoopi Goldberg) who totally defer to him and throw him softball questions. First, why would a man who has nothing to hide, talk endlessly on CNN, Fox, The View and many, many more news outlets which would give him a forum? Saying he has to protect his reputation isn’t convincing. He’s a lawyer. Isn’t a court of law his exclusive remedy for false accusations? Dershowitz has relentlessly tried the allegations against him in the court of public opinion, more than in the law suits in which he is a party. Using media appearances, he is unconstrained by the rules of evidence, leaving public sentiment as the trier of fact, based upon his sound bites and professions of having conclusive evidence of his innocence. Trying any case in the media is inconsistent with his background as a lawyer, law professor and legal scholar. In 2015, ABC interviewed alleged Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre. ABC got multiple calls from Dershowitz pressing ABC to shut down her interview. Within a 24 hour period, he spoke with two ABC producers and an ABC lawyer, protesting their airing the Giuffre interview. It never aired. Dershowitz stated that he did not want to see her credibility enhanced by ABC. What hypocrisy from Dershowitz. He can go on a media blitz stating his version of the facts, but the public should be denied hearing directly from an alleged victim? And shame on ABC for buckling under pressure from Dershowitz. Dershowitz attacked each one of perceived attackers. He disparaged the New Yorker article and both its author and its Editor, David Remnick, himself a Pulitzer Prize winner. He said “Remnick is out to get me.” Dershowitz attacked Julie K. Brown and the Miami Herald. He described Virginia Giuffre as a serial liar and a prostitute, and attacked Sarah Rensome as well. After Boies attacked Dershowitz’ credibility, the two lawyers have argued aggressively. Dershowitz’ counterattack was : “I believe they (Boies’ law firm) are the law firm of extortion, subornation of perjury and other crimes.” Highly defamatory if untrue. Dershowitz, disparaging former Federal judge Cassell, said Cassell is prepared to lie, cheat and steal. He is essentially a crook. Also highly defamatory if untrue. Everyone who has made adverse allegations concerning Dershowitz’ relationship with Epstein is attacked publicly and/or sued. Attacking the lawyers representing abuse victims has been with intent to kill. Calling them criminals and seeking their disbarment or censure is an all-out jugular attack. Dershowitz filed complaints with the state Bars in Florida and New York against Boies and Cassell. In neither complaint has action been taken. Everyone who writes about adverse allegations or facts is subject to public vilification. Dershowitz has been on more media outlets more frequently that a movie star promoting his/her forthcoming film. He rants about all the evidence he has that the women are lying, the lawyers are crooks and others are out to get him. In one of his appearances on The View, he protested that he had taken his wife and children to an Epstein residence. On another program, he said he took his wife, children and grandchildren to see Epstein. First, get your story straight and second, this sounds like he has taken the family to Disneyland, rather than a mansion with massage tables and young girls. It does not seem plausible. It is certainly possible that Dershowitz may have taken his wife and family members to a formal dinner at the Manhattan mansion, but employees at an Epstein residence said that he had been there multiple times– not with his wife. How many times has Dershowitz traveled to Little St. James Island aboard Epstein’s Boeing 727? How many trips to the mansions in New York, Palm Beach and New Mexico has Dershowitz taken? If he has made such trips they probably won’t show up on flight logs. Although passenger manifests are required , there may not be any. According to AP, what Fox News found is instructive. Fox was looking for dirt on Bill Clinton, a friend of Epstein and found that the former President took at least 26 trips aboard Epstein’s private jet from 2001-2003. Significantly, Fox found that fellow passengers were identified in manifests only by their initials or first names. This practice may well have given deniability to many who attended Epstein’s gatherings, possibly including Dershowitz. Given all that is now publicly known about Epstein, how could a close friend and confidant like Dershowitz not have known or, at a bare minimum, heard some of the salacious tales ? Epstein bragged about needing sex 3 times a day and having a young Yugoslavian sex slave. He enlisted a number of people to find young girls for him and his guests. He engaged a community college girl to find girls for him, the younger, the better. Ghislaine Maxwell, viewed as Epstein’s madam, recruited girls for him. According to the Miami Herald, Epstein had a modeling agency bring him under-age girls from foreign countries. His private island in the Caribbean has been a long-time sanctuary of illicit behavior. It has been known to locals in nearby St. Thomas as “Pedophile Island” and to others as “Orgy Island.” His private jet, a Boeing 727, was referred to as the “Lolita Express.” He had many massage tables in each of his residences. “Massage,” in his case, was a euphemism for a prelude to full-blown sex or at least a happy ending. It has been reported that he would sometimes masturbate during the massage. He had cameras and microphones in many rooms in his residences that gave him, or anyone else that saw the recordings, leverage over his guests. Epstein’s butler reportedly kept a book of young girls’ contact inform for his boss. His house manager, Juan Allesi, told police in 2002 that the women brought in to give him massages were getting younger and younger. When Dershowitz is asked about Epstein’s conduct, he deflects the question, saying he knows nothing about Epstein’s conduct or under-age girls. Just how plausible is that? Dershowitz has claimed to be a supporter of the #metoo movement, which would be entirely consistent with the staunch protection of civil liberties that he wears like a badge. He is not and his historical behavior confirms it. In the 1990s, Dershowitz wrote an op-ed in the LA times entitled, “Statutory Rape is an Outdated Concept, in which he advocated for a lower age of consent. He suggested 14 years old, apparently his choice, but went on to say that reasonable people could agree that 15 is appropriate. His argument was met with a flurry of disgusted responses, with a hashtag creepyDershowitz. More recently, Dershowitz defended his op-ed, saying he was making a legal argument, not a moral one. A legal argument without a moral foundation? So legislators should pass legislation without regard for its moral implications? This is ethically bankrupt reasoning and hardly worthy of a former Harvard Law professor. One would hope that the ethics and morality of what we legislate are given due consideration. His position appears to reflect his personal belief that this is appropriate– no matter what his legal argument to the contrary. Children under 18 lack enough life experience not to make unthinking mistakes and exercise poor judgment. Everyone who has children knows that. So should Dershowitz, who has a daughter. Consider your young, under-age daughter being manipulated by his friend Epstein, promising to send her to modeling school, pay for her education, take her abroad, etc. Dershowitz and Epstein had many common interests., according to Dershowitz himself. Is under-age girls one of them? Jeffrey Epstein made the following statement to New York Times business columnist, James Stewart. “He said that criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and that in history it was perfectly acceptable.” According to Dershowitz, “the problem of false rape reports in a serious one,” as he wrote in the Washington Times in 2009. “The time has come to stop patronizing calculating women who use rape accusations to serve their own selfish interests.” In a long-forgotten book Dershowitz authored, “The Abuse Excuse: And Other Cop-Outs, Sob Stories and Other Evasions of Responsibility,” Dershowitz rails at “radical feminists.” In the 1990s, Dershowitz taught a class at Harvard Law School in which he talked about the need to protect men who are so often wrongly accused of rape. One of his female students commented, we’ve had enough about rape. Women in this room have been rape victims. Can we move on? Instead of showing empathy, Dershowitz said it was his class and he would decide what to teach. It will take more than public opinion to exhume his heretofore pristine reputation. He needs a court finding of innocence in a fair trial. More controversy continued with the revelation of the contents of the non-prosecution agreement. Alex Acosta came under fire. He feebly defended himself, publically pointing the finger at the Florida Attorney General’s office, which he said would have let him go free. Yet the FBI’s 14 month investigation found at least 30 victims and prepared a lengthy indictment. Acosta stated that he got a conviction and required him to be registered as a sex offender. Acosta’s public defense of his conduct was lame and deflecting, giving the appearance of a liar struggling to blame Florida prosecutors. This was all too unusual and suspicious. Federal intervention in a state case is so rare as to be extraordinary, Numerous legal experts called the non-prosecution deal indefensible and unprecedented. Why were co-conspirators given immunity in the agreement, a very unusual occurrence? Why was the agreement to be kept secret, according to its terms, unlawfully keeping alleged victims in the dark? Much of the evidence previously gathered by the FBI and available to Acosta was used in the more recent prosecution of Epstein by the Southern District of New York. Before Epstein’s death, SDNY believed they had a strong case. Acosta was forced to leave the Trump cabinet, living under a cloud of suspicion. Getting rid of Acosta gives Trump more distance from Epstein, someone he has called a friend. Given who Epstein was, nothing would have been off the table for this desperate man. One has to ask, what would a billionaire like Epstein do to avoid a conviction for sex trafficking minors? Just about anything. Epstein and his lawyer Dershowitz knew very powerful people. Would they or either of them have reached out to rich and powerful friends to squeeze Acosta or pay him off? If so, other DOJ lawyers and FBI investigators would likely have challenged him and rejected the secret deal. Why would the DOJ and FBI back off? When Acosta was questioned by the Trump transition team prior to his confirmation, specifically concerning the controversial non-prosecution agreement, he admitted to the transition team that he had “been told” to back off and that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein belonged to intelligence and to leave it alone,” as reported by Vicky Ward of the Daily Beast. Acosta apparently wouldn’t hesitate to lie to the public, but would have been candid with the Trump transition team, as Ms. Ward likely concluded. This is a plausible and frightening explanation. If “intelligence” intervened, the DOJ and FBI would have stood down. If true, the prospect is that Epstein was running a blackmailing operation, not just being the degenerate host/participant in orgies and pedophilia. It may well be that Epstein squeezed some of his wealthy guests to invest in his offshore foundation. Such allegations have been made and would be a safe bet— but is there more? Is our CIA involved? Is Mossad? Former CIA and military intelligence officer, Robert David Steele, believes Epstein is linked to Mossad as part of an elaborate blackmail operation. Such an operation has been referred to as a “honey pot,” or “honey traps” presumably because flies are attracted to it. A former counterterrorism specialist and military intelligence officer for the CIA over 18 years, Philip Girardi, reporting via The American Herald Tribune, believes that Steele’s conclusion is plausible. Epstein’s madam, Ghisilaine Maxwell, is the daughter of Mossad double agent, Robert Maxwell. High level Israeli intelligence personnel attended his funeral, including Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who eulogized Maxwell stating “He has done more for Israel than can today be said.” Other sources are more definitive. Steve Pieczenik is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance and James Baker. He wrote an article for Forbidden Knowledge entitled, “The Mosaad-Epstein Connection,” in which he states his belief that Epstein was a Mosaad asset and Ghislaine Maxwell was his handler. Epstein’s sex trafficking of under-age girls was a Mosaad operation. The use of “honey traps” in intelligence operations, he explained, is wide-spread. Use of children in sexual entrapment operations is an extremely effective way to control a target. Recall that back in 1996, Epstein had taken Dershowitz to multi-billionaire Les Wexner’s mansion in Ohio. Wexner has long been a supporter of Israel through his foundation. He has supported Jewish charities, to his credit, for many years. In doing so, he developed a network of Jewish professionals and volunteers to support Israel. Wexner co-founded Mega Group with Charles Bronfman, supported by 20 or more wealthy American Jews, seeking American support for Israel Some investigative reporting concludes that Wexner has a powerful and close connection to Mosaad. The Ohio Inspector General, David Strutz, and Earl Smith, Sheriff of Franklin County in Ohio believed that Wexner also has ties to the CIA. If true, this would make Epstein’s introduction of Dershowitz to Wexner more than 20 years ago significant. Although Wexner’s name has not been mentioned in connection with Epstein’s sex parties, Dershowitz brought it up. When attorney Boies pressed him during his representation of Virginia Giuffre, Dershowitz was, at times, angry and flustered. He argued that he was being used as an example to frighten Leslie Wexner into paying a large settlement, Connie Bruck of the New Yorker reported. Well Alan, what is Wexner’s involvement in the Epstein scandal? Dershowitz has long been a supporter of Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as an aggressive defender of the Israeli Prime Minister while he was being investigated, and indicted, on corruption charges. Dershowitz has deep ties to Israeli politicians and, apparently to Mossad. In an interview with The Times of Israel, he mounted a vehement defense of the U.S. leaving a military option against Iran on the table. Dershowitz appeared to have no trouble getting comments supporting his position from two former Directors of Mosaad, Efram HaLevy (Mossad Director from 1998-2002) and Meir Dagan (Director from (2002-2011). The Epstein saga raises questions not only about whether Dershowitz had sex with under-age girls at Epstein residences but also whether he was part of something bigger and even uglier. Was Epstein’s sex trafficking a blackmailing operation? Was Dershowitz a part of such an ugly scheme? Was it a Mossad and/or CIA operation? Was all this an American or Israeli version of Russian Kompromat? Dershowitz’ reputation is surely at stake. The Death of Jeffrey Epstein Although Epstein’s death is beyond the scope of this article on Dershowitz since there is no evidence of his involvement and I do not believe he was involved, it marks the end of the Dershowitz-Epstein story. The facile conclusion that Epstein committed suicide is likely bogus and intended to sweep the Epstein saga under the rug to be forgotten. Yes, the autopsy of Epstein concluded that Epstein did himself in, yet suspicious facts and circumstances strongly suggest otherwise. First, a lot of very wealthy and powerful guests of Epstein on Pedophile Island and his other residences certainly wanted him silenced. If U.S. and Israeli intelligence communities were involved in a blackmail operation, they surely wouldn’t want the true story told. There are multiple suspects if very likely foul play was involved. In Epstein’s alleged first attempt at suicide, Epstein said he thought he was being attacked, according to the Washington Post. At that time, Epstein had a cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a disgraced ex-cop and drug dealer who received a death sentence for 4 drug-related murders. A hulking, muscular body builder, Tartaglione was certainly capable of murdering Epstein and it wouldn’t have been his first murder. The New York Post further corroborated that investigators believed Epstein was assaulted and Tartaglione was a suspect. After Epstein’s death, Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, stated that a number of guards at the jail threatened his client, telling him to shut up and stop talking about Epstein’s death or there would be a price to pay. According to investigative reporter, Whitney Webb, Epstein’s attorneys stated that their client planned on cooperating with Federal authorities. Further, some independent forensic pathologists believe the evidence points to strangulation. Recently, the Washington Post reported that the cameras outside Epstein’s cell were “unusable,” yet clearer footage was captured in the same area. Supposedly, the two officers assigned to the area where Epstein was incarcerated both fell asleep. One of them did not normally work as a corrections officer, although he had been in the past, officials said. The entirety of the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death doesn’t just smell bad. It reeks.