Dershowitz Comes To Spitzer's Defense

Alan Dershowitz, who taught Eliot Spitzer at Harvard Law School, came to his former student's defense today after it was revealed that Spitzer was tied to a prostitution ring.

Calling into MSNBC, the famous legal mind decried the prism through which the media was focused on the Spitzer affair, calling it a "uniquely American story."

"I feel terrible for Eliot and his family," said Dershowitz. "But I feel that this was a story that we have to put in perspective. Big deal. Married man goes to prostitute. In Europe, this wouldn't even make the back pages of the newspaper."

Reminded that Spitzer himself had railed against prostitution rings in 2004, Dershowitz admitted that there was "cycle of hypocrisy" that the New York Governor had become a part of.

The speech was interrupted by Spitzer's address, to which Dershowitz also responded. Asked, eventually, how someone he described as "brilliant" could be involved in something so boneheaded, Dershowitz didn't mince words.

"Men don't use their brains when it comes to something like this," he said. "They think with a different part of their body and that part of the body, the level of brains, there are no relationship to the level of brains in the skull, unfortunately. And when people think with that organ of the body, they make these kind of really, really terrible mistakes."

Here is some more of Dershowitz's defense:

After Dershowitz spoke, soon-to-be-departed MSNBC host Tucker Carlson came on air and offered a mild defense of Spitzer as well. Sort of.

"I would argue, if you're against Eliot Spitzer, and I think his public career has been shameful, this is not the way to get him," said Carlson, whose show's cancellation was announced on Monday. "Spitzer's true sins, in my view, are the ones that he commits in public, crushing other people for the sake of his own political career, for instance, which has been the hallmark of his time in public life. Not going to a hooker. That's no way to get, in my opinion, your political enemy. So to see the press getting all high-handed about the fact that grown man went to a prostitute is nauseating."

Comments

[funkalicious]

Some Defense Alan Spitzer has been reduced to govenor Dickhead.
Run Govenor Dickhead, Run!!!

[ColetteG]

Hypocritical? Yes.
Illegal? Obviously.
Relevant? Not really.
Criminalizing prostitution is the relevant issue we should be finally dealing with.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

"Big deal. Married man goes to prostitute," says Derschowitz. The fact that prostitution is illegal in the U.S. doesn't seem to bother Derschowitz. Just like it didn't bother him to do everything in his power to free double murderer OJ Simpson when he chopped his wife's head off. Lawyers like Derschowitz aren't concerned with justice. The only thing that matters to most lawyers is winning.

[BenjiG]

No kidding. And Alan Derschowitz is the most misogynistic man on the planet...why is anyone suprised that he would defend Spitzer's behavior?

Derschowitz is just looking for another case...

They should both be in jail.

[LeoMarvin]

You contradict yourself. First you criticize Dershowitz for defending what he considers harmless illegality (Spitzer). Then you complain that he makes legal arguments lawyers must, instead of playing judge and jury to reach the result you'd prefer (OJ). But more important than your inconsistency is that he's exercising Constitutional Rights we have to analyze separately. There's the First Amendment Right to say what we think is fair, irrespective of legality. Then there's the Sixth Amendment Right of criminal defendants to be represented by counsel who view everything in the light most favorable to their client. In other words, a lawyer is CONSTITUTIONALLY PROHIBITED from thinking, "He's probably guilty, so I won't make all the arguments."

Of course if you have a better idea than the Bill of Rights, I'm listening.

[FirstShirt]

Theres an old saying that you should be careful with the people on the way up because you will meet them on the way down. He did his job at the chief law enforcement officer [attorney general] and ruined alot of lives in the process. He should expect no less.

[cornflower]

An attorney general and a governor are the chief law enforcement officials in government. If they have no respect for the law and cannot conform their behavior to its edicts, then why should anyone else? He knew it was illegal; he must have known he was risking detection - we cannot tolerate it. He has to serve as a model of respect for the rule of law and no one more than he behaved as if that was absolutely necessary.

He's toast. He has no moral authority and has so lost his mission.

[sayitaintso]

Well, remember, Dershowitz is a serial defender of the rich and famous -- O.J. Simpson and Klaus von Bulow, to name two, and got them off with the same brain that he is using now to defend Spitizer -- what can you do? It's in Dershowitz's genes.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

It's irrelevant what goes on in Europe, because this is America, and people don't like sex scandals or the hypocrisy attached to those scandals. Let's put away the moral and criminal implications for a moment. How can he be busting prostitution rings when he's Attorney General, and then funding them on the sly when he's the Governor? Last time I checked, that's called hypocrisy.

[rjc116]

I have lost respect for Alan Dershowitz as well. We're not even talking about some one time event, or an unfortunate romantic attachment to a colleague. Spitzer is a scumbag, a lying pathetic creep. I couldn't be more embarrassed for his family. Anyone can see his wife is a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished woman -- the real deal. How can people possibly continue to respect a man who is so egotistical, insensitive, and dishonest that he runs down to Washington, DC to have a tryst with a fictional character?

[txshldm0007]

All those with no sins should cast the first stone... This country is so hypocritical....

For a change I agree with Dershowitz...

After all you religious fanatics ... did you forget ....

Jimmy Swaggart ? Where is he today? at http://www.jsm.org or Jimmy Swaggart Ministries !!!!

Or would you GOP fanatics would you feel different if he was with a boy instead ???

Gimme a break !!!

[luxou812]

um. this is the gov of ny. not a certified charlatan. i'm a noam chomsky lovin, secular, dutch model, unchurched guy, and I think he should resign right now.

[raindrips]

Trust? Trust??
Anyone who thinks we should elect people we can trust is a pollyanna.

Good government depends on laws, openness, and balance of powers, with one branch keeping an eye on the other. Not trust. Distrust, ergo watchfulness.

So Elliot's an idiot, along with Larry Craig, Bill Clinton, that guy with the pages, and any number of other public officials that can't keep their dicks in their pants. Seems to be something that goes with power. Would be an interesting study.

But like Larry, Bill, and the guy with the pages, being an lustful idiot does not mean bad governance.
I vote for people to govern, not to be my life-style models.

I'm sure GWB is very faithful. But he's still the worst president since hoover.
I'm sure JFK fooled around,. But he's still an inspiration to many.

Let's get our priorities straight.

[darker]

We Americans are so BABYSH*T, immature and hypocritical about SEX.
Have you taken a vow of celibacy or signed up to be a monk when you
were hired for a job?

Whaaaaat? NO?? WHY NOT??? How "disappointing".
Resign IMMEDIATELY, not tomorrow.

Mind YOUR OWN SEX business and not everybody else's.
Whatta bunch of underwear sniffing idiots.

[sdguppy]

I'm crushed, Mr. Spitzer was a hero of mine for going after corporations who were raping the little guys when no one else cared, especially the federal government.

As for resigning, I humbly submit that he should resign just as soon as David VItter (R-LA) does.

[MelindaPost]

They're never "disappointed" in themselves until they're caught. How about the hypocrisy of the now-routine press statement?

[PatA]

I suppose that Alan would like the quote, "it ain't what you do, but who you let see you do it".......from an Etta James song. I agree, this ain't Europe!

[mcartri]

Since Republican Senators Vetter and Craig resigned after their sexual scandals, it's only right that Spitzer resign, too. What's that you say? They haven't resigned because members of the party of Family Values don't have to. OK. That's fair enough...

[FirstShirt]

Yeah, you may have heard, due process of law and civil rights also apply to republicans. It was just on CNN the other night. Quite revolutionary, really. Made me want to run out and burn a flag.

[HGalal]

Spitzer is going to need him as legal representation during the divorce proceedings.