Alan Dershowitz appeared on Newsmax Monday and raised the prospect of federal intervention to hold state actors accountable for what he sees as politically motivated abuse of the legal system.
The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) launched an investigation on Saturday into whether Special Counsel Jack Smith violated the Hatch Act by engaging in prohibited political activities while leading two criminal investigations against President Donald Trump during his 2024 candidacy. During an appearance on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Dershowitz specifically called out New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James, suggesting their actions could warrant scrutiny under federal jurisdiction.
“I would think it would be a way of getting federal jurisdiction over state actors when they abuse the Constitution in the way that Bragg and James did abuse the Constitution,” Dershowitz said. “I would think some creative lawyering — I’m not talking about criminal prosecution because I don’t like that — but creative lawyers might find a way of finding some civil accountability for the misuse of the legal system in so political a way.”
Discussing the issue, Dershowitz said he agreed with host Greta Van Susteren’s suggestion to subpoena emails to define intent. (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Shares What Worries Him Most About Epstein Case Files)
“I agree with you. The other way of finding intent is if you have some lower level people who are in the office who would be prepared to testify that Smith said so-and-so and gave his motive. Now, again, in the cases in New York, there’s no problem of showing intent,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz criticized what he called the politicization of the legal and criminal system.
“They bragged about it. They ran on the ground that they wanted to weaponize the legal and criminal system in order to gain political advantage for their side. So it was very easy in New York, but they’re not being a state,” Dershowitz said.
In June 2023, Smith charged Trump with mishandling classified documents, including 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act. He also issued a separate indictment in August 2023, charging Trump with four felony counts related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
In July 2024, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case, ruling that Smith’s appointment violated the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution. After Trump won the 2024 election, Smith dropped the election case, adhering to the Department of Justice’s long-standing precedent of not criminally charging sitting presidents.
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