There are so many false stories circulating about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. I know because I was the victim of one of them.
A woman who I never met and never heard of accused me of having unprotected sex with her on six occasions in exotic places that I had never visited.
Ultimately, she admitted that she may have misidentified me, mistaking me for someone else. She subsequently dropped all her false accusations against me, but not before my reputation was seriously damaged by those who love to believe ugly stories about controversial people.
It is against this background that First Lady Melania Trump‘s seemingly spontaneous news conference on Thursday afternoon can best be understood.
Mrs Trump is famously media shy. It seems to me that she would never publicly address a rumored association with Epstein unless she did it to preempt an erroneous story accusing her of such a relationship.
Were such an accusation made – even if it were demonstrably and provably false, as I expect this one surely would be – many Trump haters would believe it, or – at least – pretend to believe it.
For my part, as I have written before, during my work representing Jeffrey Epstein I never came across any evidence implicating Donald Trump in any of his crimes. For the record, I will add that I never encountered any information tarnishing Melania Trump either.
But as Mark Twain said, ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.’
Mrs Trump is famously media shy. It seems to me that she would never publicly address a rumored association with Epstein unless she did it to preempt an erroneous story accusing her of such a relationship, writes Alan Dershowitz
There are so many false stories circulating about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. I know because I was the victim of one of them, says Alan Dershowitz
Mrs Trump, I presume, decided to get out ahead of a potential story, by categorically denying any link to Epstein. I did not have the opportunity to do that, but if I had, I surely would have taken advantage of the tactic.
Indeed, Mrs Trump – as is her right – has aggressively pushed back against reporting what her lawyers have described as ‘malicious and defamatory falsehoods’, even threatening lawsuits against those who persist in publishing slanderous content.
The Daily Beast website retracted and apologized for a story that they published last year. Author Michael Wolff claims he’s been warned to watch his step by Mrs Trump’s lawyers.
But, perhaps, it hasn’t been enough.
‘The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,’ the First Lady declared on Thursday. ‘To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, [Ghislaine] Maxwell… I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.’
It seems to me that Mrs Trump and her legal counsel are setting the stage for potential legal action. The US legal system sets a high bar for proving defamation against a public figure. The right to free speech is a pillar of a functioning democracy, but the right should not be used as cover for deliberate defamation.
Mrs Trump’s definitive public statement could conceivably make it easier for her to argue that any individual publishing provably false information to a third party did so with malice, a key element of a successful defamation case. Additionally, such a seemingly sincere and frankly brave public address may influence potential jurors in a trial.
Of course, we may not learn whether any such slanderous accusation was in the works. Mrs Trump’s preemptive strike may work, but I doubt it. In our current media age, someone, somewhere, somehow is likely to leak a false story.
Hopefully, it will be less believable considering her categorical denial. And not just for the sake of the First Lady. For there are, of course, real victims – and the scurrilous pedalling of rumors does them no good service.
During my work representing Jeffrey Epstein I never came across any evidence implicating Donald Trump in any of his crimes. For the record, I will add that I never encountered any information tarnishing Melania Trump either
I hope that Melania Trump gets what she asked for in that news conference: an end to lies. But, what’s more, she called on Congress to ‘provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing’.
All the alleged Epstein victims should tell their stories under oath, so that their claims can be heard and investigated.
I’m glad Melania Trump came forward. Her personal denial, coupled with her demand for sworn testimony by alleged survivors, may be an important step toward the truth.
Epstein’s true victims should be assured justice and compensation. False victims – those who never met Epstein and those who helped him recruit other females – should be exposed. And those trading in falsehoods should be held to account.
Alan Dershowitz is author ‘Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?’