Alan Dershowitz on Representing Jeffrey Epstein: I’ve ‘Become a Target’ Because ‘I Did My Job Well’
“I will continue to represent the most unpopular, the most despised, the most controversial and even the most indefensible clients.”

John Lamparski/Getty
Alan Dershowitz, one of the main lawyers behind accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 sweetheart plea deal, says he is the victim of a smear campaign because he got Epstein “the best result possible.” In an op-ed published by The Times of Israel on Thursday, Dershowitz wrote that it was “unlikely” he would have been accused of sexual misconduct by two of Epstein’s accusers “if I had not defended Jeffrey Epstein and gotten him a favorable plea deal.” “In other words, because I did my job well—getting my client the best result possible—I have now become a target of efforts to destroy my reputation and career,” he wrote. Dershowitz went on to say that he would “continue to represent the most unpopular, the most despised, the most controversial and even the most indefensible clients” because “if criminal defense lawyers were to refuse to zealously defend the guilty, then more and more innocent people would be brought to trial.
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