Two Opposing Views on Value Dershowitz Brings to FBI Corruption Case

Two of Frank Report’s most erudite and successful commenters square off on their view of the entre of Alan Dershowitz into the Raniere case.

Alan Dershowitz represents Clare Bronfman and Keith Raniere.

Longworth Says Longterm Significant

By Peter Longworth

Wow, even people our side of the pond know who Alan Dershowitz is…

OK, I can understand much of the horrified reaction here. Of course, this guy has represented some dubious clients down the years, and some may say his own family history is a little chequered. That’s not to say that he has also proven himself one of the finest and most famous constitutional lawyers in US history.

OK, he’s getting on a bit (82/83?), and they say age dulls the sharpest of minds, but there’s really nothing to suggest he’s past it yet, and in law there is often no substitute for experience.

So why is this such a coup for the Raniere camp? It’s not just that he’s a fine constitutional lawyer with a lifetime of experience fighting on ground on which he has very sure footing; it’s his fame (some might say infamy) that gives Raniere such a massive boost. His involvement is more likely to mean that the case breaks into the mainstream media pretty much globally, and that’s not good news for the FBI or the DOJ.

Whatever you think about Raniere (and there is no one who loathes him more than I do), this case may have potentially constitutional implications for how federal authorities are regulated, and on their powers to act. It may in the future be much harder to flout procedures or brush things under the carpet, and perhaps that’s a good thing in terms of justice and accountability.

Whether Raniere will get a new trial is another question.

Given the weight of the other evidence against him, I think it unlikely, and any reduction in his sentencing is just as unlikely to make a difference. However, it may be argued that the plea deals extracted could be judged unsafe, so who knows?

One thing’s for sure: if members of the FBI/DOJ scratched their noses when they weren’t supposed to, Dershowitz will expose it and it will be loudly reported. They had better get their ducks in a row.

Baloney Says Aristotle’s Sausage

By Aristotle’s Sausage

It seems the media has not jumped all over this “bombshell development” like Clare Bronfman and the rest of the Free Raniere Club had hoped.

As far as I can tell this alleged “news” has been met with crickets.

Googling Dershowitz this is about all I found under News:

Kidnapped Migrants More Popular on Martha’s Vineyard Than Alan Dershowitz

Shocking no one, the community is much more welcoming than the law professor constantly pretends.

By JOE PATRICE
September 16, 2022 at 2:14 PM

“Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, you can set your clock to Alan Dershowitz publicly complaining that no one on Martha’s Vineyard likes him. He’s not invited to concerts. The library doesn’t give him an open mic anymore (he might even sue them!). And the famously chipper Larry David is yelling at him.”

Deshowitz’s championing Raniere’s cause changes nothing of course because there’s still no evidence the Feds cheated.

And this isn’t news since it’s been known since Aug. 2020 that hiring Alan Dershowitz to his cause was part of his plan:

“I’ll be in here for the rest of my life if we don’t do something,” Raniere said in an April 8 call to a supporter, Suneel Chakravorty, adding that the witnesses in his trial “all lied.”

“[And] the rest of my life might not be that long considering the way things are in here, you know,” he said.”

Raniere then proceeded to push for a pundit to speak out against the judge, suggesting Dershowitz, who is best known for representing Jeffrey Epstein.”

“So. Now we gotta figure out the next step with Dershowitz” is what Raniere told Chakravorty in that recorded prison telephone call.

Evidently, they figured out the next step with Dershowitz, which was to get Bronfman to hire him with her millions.

But the plot fizzled, like so many things incompetent Raniere tried over the years.

Nobody in the media much cares about Dershowitz or Raniere anymore.

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