Alan Dershowitz on SpitzerGate: What Is This? Russia?

[Purveyor]

Lavrenti Beria, the head of Joseph Stalin’s KGB, once quipped to his boss, “show me the man and I will find the crime.” The Soviet Union was notorious for having accordion-like criminal laws that could be adjusted to fit almost any dissident target. The U.S. is a far cry from the Soviet Union, but our laws are dangerously overbroad. — Alan Dershowitz


That’s Harvard prof Alan Dershowitz in an op-ed — “The Entrapment of Eliot” — in today’s WSJ. Dershowitz, who taught Spitzer’s crim law class at Harvard, has, in a quite public way, rushed to Spitzer’s defense. In addition to this morning’s WSJ piece, Dershowitz appeared on CNN two nights ago, where he argued that Spitzer’s political future should be decided by New York voters, not the feds.

“The federal criminal investigation that has led to Eliot Spitzer’s resignation as governor of New York illustrates the great dangers all Americans face from vague and open-ended sex and money-transaction statutes,” Dershowitz wrote in the WSJ. “Congress enacted these laws to give federal prosecutors wide discretion in deciding which ‘bad guys’ to go after.”

Generally, says Dershowitz, “wise and intelligent prosecutors” use proper discretion in pursuing the real bad guys, such as mobsters, terrorists and exploiters of children. But, he claims, “selectively enforced statutes . . . lie around like loaded guns waiting to be used against the enemies of politically motivated investigators, prosecutors and politicians.”

---EOE---

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/03/13/alan-dershowitz-on-spitzergate-what-is-this-russia/?mod=googlenews_wsj

[spanone]

1. K&R

dershowitz has a point here. 'selectively enforced statutes'....more like elimination of political enemies

[theredpen]

2. Thank Jeebus Alan has something more useful to do than advocate "torture warrants"

Give 'em hell, Alan!

[madrchsod]

3. he`s full of shit

the guy broke the law. because he is one of the swells does this make him immune from getting busted?

[napi21]

4. You may not like him but he's RIGHT on this one.

There have been quite a number of attorneys who expressed dismay at the bank even bothering to file a report to have the FBI look into such a small amount of $$, and that the FBI even bothered was very odd. They've ALL said that the MANN Act hasn't been enforced on a consentual sex action in more than 50 years, and that was never the intent of the law. I'm more convinced every day that Elliott was targeted because he was a high profile Dem. Governor and there was no problem getting cooperation because he had made many enemies over the years. YES he was a fool for not realizing what a risk he was taking when he paid for sex, but that doesn't make him any more deserving of jail time than any other man in the same circumstances.

Elliott has done a GREAT job in helping to clean up the Wall Street crooks and the bankers and mafia type crime, and he's been highly praised everywhere...even here on DU. If you REALLY want to jail him, I suggest you look at the THOUSANDS of other executives who are doing the same damn thing, then get your wallet out because you're going to need a LOT MORE JAILS!

[daa]

5. I agree but why

is that damn Larry Craig still in the senate???????????????????????

[napi21]

7. Because the Pubs all stuck WITH HIM, the same as they did with Vitter!

Also both Craig & Vitter are Pubs, and you do remember who controls the DOJ, don't you?

[KeepItReal]

11. Right!

(eom)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

6. oh great...another effing x-gate...

please PLEASE for the love of god come up with something new...FUCK

[Phx_Dem]

8. He wrote another piece yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2997539&mesg_id=2997539

[Canuckistanian]

9. Ah, screw "Mr. Torture" Dershowitz

Like he has any handle on what constitutes "justice".

[OneBlueSky]

10. didn't I read somewhere that the head of that "escort service" was an IRA agent? . . .

funny, I haven't seen that mentioned in any of the major papers or on the tube . . . think they might be covering something up? . . . might the whole endeavor been a sting operation all along? . . .