Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz defended the Trump administration in a recent interview, asserting that federal judges—not political figures—are responsible for the suppression of names in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
“There is no client list and never has been a client list,” said Dershowitz, Epstein’s former attorney, in an interview with NewsNation. “A client list suggests that Jeffrey Epstein made a list of people to whom he trafficked women. What there is, is a redacted FBI affidavit from accusers.”
According to Dershowitz, the blacked-out names come from affidavits by Epstein’s accusers. “There are several of them from accusers that accuse Jeffrey, that accuse various people of having improper sex, and that has been redacted,” he explained. “The names of the people accused have been blacked out.”
Dershowitz, who reviewed the records during his legal work for Epstein, dismissed speculation that the redacted names include current political leaders. “I know who all these people are,” he said. “I could figure out, based on everything that I saw, who Mr. X is, Mr. Y is, and Mr. Z. I can tell you right now, none of them are public figures who are currently in office. Some of them were previously in office. Some of them are dead.”
He also downplayed the likelihood of shocking revelations if more files are released. “People would be surprised by how few names are there that haven’t already been disclosed,” he noted.
Dershowitz said he is legally bound by court orders from discussing certain details, but emphasized that neither the Trump administration, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, nor the Justice Department are to blame for the withheld information. “I don’t know of any information that they could disclose that they haven’t disclosed,” he said. “Maybe there is some, but I’m simply not aware of it.”
Addressing theories that Epstein was connected to intelligence agencies, Dershowitz flatly rejected the claims. “If he had, he would have been dying to tell me that, because I could have used that to get him a better deal,” he said, referencing the 2008 plea agreement. “If he had worked with the Mossad or the CIA, that would have been golden for me. I can tell you with absolute certainty he had no connections to Mossad.”
Dershowitz’s comments come amid renewed interest in the redacted files and heightened public scrutiny over the individuals whose names remain hidden.