Dershowitz has denied all the charges and filed a counter-suit. Giuffre’s defamation suit against Dershowitz is seen by some as a path to more information, and justice, for accusers who were disappointed by the end of the criminal case against Epstein. Giuffre previously filed a defamation suit against one of Epstein’s closest assistants, Ghislaine Maxwell, and won a confidential settlement, and Epstein was among those deposed in the sealed case. Dershowitz is seeking to have the records in that case unsealed, and the federal courts have indicated that some records should be released.
Dershowitz continues to maintain in his new suit that “he never met or had any contact with Giuffre ... that she has falsely accused him of heinous acts which never happened” and that she never accused Dershowitz “until she met her lawyers and was told she could profit from accusing him.” The longtime criminal defense lawyer repeats his belief that “Giuffre and her lawyers” made false claims “in order to make a public example out of him, and extort private settlements from other, wealthier individuals associated with Epstein,” particularly billionaire Leslie Wexner. Wexner has denied any improprieties.
Dershowitz, a former attorney for Epstein, appeared on flight logs 11 times, but has denied the accusations made by Giuffre, calling them an “outrageous lie.” He filed a motion against Giuffre in 2015, stating that the allegations were “ginned up” for the media. “I was on that plane on several occasions as the manifests will show, but never under circumstances where it would have been possible to have sex with Jane Doe #3,” Dershowitz’s statement read. “On a couple of occasions I was on his plane with my wife and daughter. There were never any young girls on the plane during any of my trips.” Dershowitz also told CNN, “I certainly didn’t have sex on an airplane. I am not a member of the Mile High Club.” Responding to the sex-trafficking charges against Epstein, Dershowitz told the Daily Beast that he would wait to see the evidence before commenting, adding that he hadn’t been in touch with Epstein “for a long time.”