The trials of Alan Dershowitz, who alleges that he is being shunned and ostracised by former friends on Martha’s Vineyard, where the Democratic elite gathers every year, are being subjected to forensic scrutiny by liberal outlets such as the New York Times. The Times, which functions as a kind of moral arbiter of the liberal elite, interviewed both Dershowitz’s friends and detractors to sound out whether his apostasy—defending Trump—really has resulted in a witch hunt against the Harvard professor. The Times arrived at the shocking conclusion that his perceived treachery has indeed prompted some measure of indignation and consternation among some of his old chums.
Actually it shouldn’t. Dershowitz may style himself as a political dissident and a high minded apostle for sacred constitutional rights. But there is more to it than that. Trump, as is the case for so many of his defenders and foes alike, has decidedly become the best thing to happen to him. For Dershowitz, Trump represented a new opportunity to revive his career by embracing a controversial politician. Ideology has nothing to do with it. Celebrity does.
Dershowitz’s last really big and embattled clients were O J Simpson and Claus von Bulow. Dershowitz does not officially represent Trump but he has become one of his most zealous defenders and can count on invitations to White House dinners. Whether Dershowitz’s counsel, which relies on a sacerdotal view of the presidency, will be enough to permit Trump to escape his past may be doubted.
But whatever Trump’s ultimate fate, Dershowitz will emerge as one of the winners from the Trump era. Who can doubt that Dershowitz is already working on his next movie and book contract? In his zealous pursuit of fame and fortune he may have more in common with Trump than even he would like to admit.
