Renowned legal scholar Alan Dershowitz criticized New York's legal system during an interview on Newsmax on Tuesday, declaring the charges against former President Donald Trump as the "weakest" he's seen in his six decades of legal practice and teaching.
"This is the weakest charge I've ever seen in my 60 years of practicing and teaching criminal law. It's a made-up case. There's nothing to it at all," Dershowitz said during his appearance on "Eric Bolling The Balance."
"But there may be a conviction because it's New York, and New York, they'd convict a ham sandwich if it has Trump's name on it," he argued.
Dershowitz further asserted that the case should have been relocated outside of New York City to ensure a fair trial, suggesting venues such as "Rockland County or Staten Island."
He also criticized the imposition of gag orders in the case, labeling them as potentially unconstitutional and asserting that Trump has the right to defend himself publicly.
"Gag orders are presumptively unconstitutional because they involve prior restraint, and the First Amendment doesn't permit prior restraint," Dershowitz stated. "Here's a case where this judge is making a decision to help his own daughter, which could be more of a conflict, and wrongly doing so."
"This young woman who is an adult and works for a political Democrat company that represents [California Democrat Rep.] Adam Schiff, the man who headed the judiciary committee efforts to impeach Trump, will benefit financially if Trump is convicted and will lose financially if Trump is acquitted, so he certainly has the right to make that public," Dershowitz said.
The interview follows Judge Juan Merchan's decision to expand a gag order on Trump ahead of his upcoming trial related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. The judge's move came after Trump's social media attacks on the case, prosecutors, the legal system, and Merchan's daughter, who works for a Democratic consulting firm, CNN reported.
In response to the initial gag order, Trump shifted his criticism to Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, highlighting her Democrat-related professional affiliations.
Dershowitz concluded by expressing hope that Trump's legal team would appeal both the gag order and the judge's recusal order, asserting Trump's right to defend himself in the public eye, particularly in what he characterized as a "rigged case" in New York.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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