Alan Dershowitz denies report that he lobbied Trump to preemptively pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
- Alan Dershowitz denied a report that he lobbied then-President Donald Trump to pre-emptively pardon Ghislaine Maxwell.
- "That is simply not true," Dershowitz told Insider on by phone about The Sunday Times report.
Famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz — who represented late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — has denied a new report that he lobbied then-President Donald Trump to preemptively pardon Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell before she stood trial.
"That is simply not true," Dershowitz told Insider on Monday by phone about the Sunday Times's report. "The story is simply not true."
According to the report, the 83-year-old attorney and retired Harvard Law professor called for Trump to pardon Maxwell during the former president's final days in office after Maxwell, once a British socialite, was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2020.
Maxwell was convicted last month after prosecutors alleged she helped disgraced financier Epstein recruit and groom young girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.
The Sunday Times reported that Dershowitz — who also represented Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020 — spoke about the possibility of clemency for Maxwell with one of Maxwell's brothers.
"There was one phone call between Professor Dershowitz and a family member during which the generic issue of pardons was touched on," Maxwell's brother, Ian Maxwell, told The Sunday Times, explaining that his family did not pay Dershowitz for his services or ask him to talk about the matter with Trump.
Dershowitz, who has been accused of sexual assault by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre and has denied the claim, told Insider on Monday, "I have no comment on what anybody else said. All I can tell you is that the [Sunday Times] story, the allegation of the story that I lobbied the president, is simply not true."
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Monday.