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Dershowitz "Shocked" How Far the Left Is 'Stretching Existing Laws,'
Townhall.com ^ | July 17, 2017 | Leah Barkoukis

Posted on 07/17/2017 6:51:04 AM PDT by Kaslin

Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, told Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro he sees no crime in Donald Trump Jr’s behavior.

“I’m shocked as a civil libertarian, and a criminal lawyer and a liberal at how liberals are, some of them at least, prepared to stretch existing laws, talk about treason, talk about other kinds of crimes that just don’t exist when it comes to the facts as we know them about this meeting,” he said. “So I’m going to keep insisting we stop accusing people of crime when there is no evidence of crime.”

Pirro followed up, asking if receiving valuable information from a foreign national could be prosecuted under campaign finance laws.

“Of course not,” replied Dershowitz. “If it were to be prosecuted the First Amendment would trump. A candidate has a right to get information from whatever source the information comes. It’s like The New York Times publishing the Pentagon papers case or the Washington Post publishing material stolen by Snowden and Manning. You don’t prosecute the newspaper and you don’t prosecute the candidate or the candidate’s son. If the material was obtained unlawfully you prosecute if you can the people who obtain the material. But there is a First Amendment right of a candidate to use information. So you can’t include information under the campaign finance law, that would be unconstitutional."

Pirro then wanted to know if there is any substance to the allegations by some liberals of treason and what, exactly, collusion means.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said last week that after the latest revelations about the meeting Donald Trump Jr. had with a Russian lawyer, that there was now “cold hard evidence of … the Trump family eagerly intending to collude possibly, with Russia … to influence American elections.”

She added: “It’s becoming clear … we have suffered a desecration of our democracy not seen since Watergate.”

Dershowitz offered some clarification.

"Collusion is not a crime unless it’s committing a criminal act. But the treason thing upsets me. When we with wrote our Constitution the British were using treason broadly against their kings. So the writers of the Constitution put a very narrow definition of treason. It is waging war against the United States. It’s inconceivable that anybody with knowledge of the Constitution or American history would argue a private citizen by securing information from for a campaign created treason,” he explained.

“It’s so dangerous to democracy to throw around these criminal law terms and accuse people willy-nilly,” he added.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ FULL ONE-ON-ONE EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO (7/15/2017)


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: alandershowitz; collusion; dershowitz; dncstrategy; theleft; treason; trumprussia
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The rest of the title is Talking About Treason With No Evidence
1 posted on 07/17/2017 6:51:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I honestly dont think the left is really serious about impeachment of charging Trump with any crime.

This is all a show for their base 1st of all and 2nd of all it’s a stalling technique to try and derail the Trump agenda and postpone any significant progress until closer to the 2018 elections when everyone will be too scared to do anything big.


2 posted on 07/17/2017 6:58:14 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Make America Great Again !)
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To: Kaslin

It’s all about a CNN-led media coup to take the Trumps out. Laws don’t matter in a coup.


3 posted on 07/17/2017 6:58:37 AM PDT by Rennes Templar (Morning in America Again, again.)
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To: Kaslin

LOL! Shocked? But probably not surprised. Funny to see some of these uber lefty’s get a little awakening only to still carry the lib torch. They know they’re wrong but..................for the greater good in the end. Thanks for the lesson alan, when you coming over to the dark side for good? ;-)


4 posted on 07/17/2017 6:59:05 AM PDT by rktman (Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?!)
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To: Kaslin

Odd how the media whines about grid lock in D.C. when the are the main cause of it idiots.


5 posted on 07/17/2017 7:00:31 AM PDT by Vaduz (women and children to be impacted the most.)
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To: Kaslin

If he is shocked he hasn’t been paying attention.


6 posted on 07/17/2017 7:00:54 AM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Beer! Because you can't drink bacon!)
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To: Kaslin

If he’s “shocked”, he hasn’t been paying attention for a couple of decades.

When’s the last time a liberal “leader” advocated for the Constitution, rule of law, or personal freedom?

EVERYTHING must be looked at in isolation with the only question being “what’s best for the ‘collective good(*)’?” and the only answer right now is “remove Trump from office” (with “stop Trump from getting anything done” a close second). So, do whatever seems most likely to make that happen no matter how foolish/stupid it looks.

(*) “the elite” are not part of the ‘collective’


7 posted on 07/17/2017 7:05:09 AM PDT by LostPassword
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To: Kaslin

It is the hatred of the left that is showing through.


8 posted on 07/17/2017 7:07:18 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Conservatives love America for what it is. Liberals hate America for the same reason.)
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To: Kaslin

Glad Dershowitz is displaying intellectual honesty here and, if only for our sakes, I appreciate him for it.

I’m trying to mentally prepare for the day we get handed over to the demonic Dems again. I hate to think of it, but look at them now. What kind of hell will that batch of evil spirits push us into when they find their “home” empty and come rushing back in?

“And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”—Jesus, Luke 11:26


9 posted on 07/17/2017 7:08:41 AM PDT by avenir (I'm pessimistic about man, but I'm optimistic about GOD!)
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To: Kaslin

Hello, Professor, the Obama Administration was all about this for eight solid years.


10 posted on 07/17/2017 7:09:06 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Kaslin

When or if dems retake the house, they will immediately impeach Trump and no reason will be needed.


11 posted on 07/17/2017 7:13:44 AM PDT by umgud
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To: All

I find it interesting he is shocked. Maybe he should give David Horowitz a call.


12 posted on 07/17/2017 7:16:30 AM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: Kaslin

For the Clintonista’s and their cadre to maintain power, influence and their patronage positions the election has to have been stolen. Else their just losers. Loser at a moment is history were they could have shaped the course of events for a century -Supreme Court.


13 posted on 07/17/2017 7:17:13 AM PDT by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: avenir

“Glad Dershowitz is displaying intellectual honesty here and, if only for our sakes, I appreciate him for it.”

As professor Dershowitz refuses to bow to the “collective Russia narrative” and boldly speaks his deep respect for Rule of Law and Constitution... one fears his “suicide” could be eminent.


14 posted on 07/17/2017 7:19:51 AM PDT by FiddlePig (Who needs Truth & facts when you have narrative?)
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Nothing shocking about stretching laws. Heck, SCOTUS makes up, hallucinates constitutional rights in order to reach the desired outcome. There is no reason any court should be bashful about "stretching" a law for the same reason.

Getting from the fact pattern suggested by the DJT, Jr. email, to "treason", is a simple matter of redefining terms. Piece of cake.

15 posted on 07/17/2017 7:21:21 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: TexasFreeper2009

> “This is all a show for their base 1st of all”

This is correct but it’s actually the second goal.

>” ... and 2nd of all it’s a stalling technique to try and derail the Trump agenda and postpone any significant progress ...”

It is a stalling technique first of all, but not so much for postponing significant progress by President Trump, although that is certainly an aim. It is more for keeping a lot of high profile democrats out of jail, because with those democrats tried and convicted, not only are the 2018 midterms as good as gone but all the graft, pay-for-play, arms trade profits, all those revenue streams are put at risk for complete shutdown.

The coordination of all the democrats circling themeselves and blasting away at Trump is all scripted by Podesta’s Manhattan MWW PR Firm. The entire act is scripted in fiction with the aim of posing that any prosecution by Trump is an obstruction, a censorship, a cover up, a fascist act, to stop democrats from uncovering the ‘collusion’ and ‘treason’.

“IF YOU ACCUSE AND INVESTIGATE ME OF CRIME, IT’S BECAUSE YOU ARE A CRIMINAL AND YOU WANT TO STOP ME FROM SHOWING YOUR CRIMES!”

Yesterday, an antifa protestor was confronted about attacks, beatings, a killing, a police horse stabbing by antifa protestors. His response was that it was not antifa that was caught red-handed but racist infiltrators of antifa, posing as antifa and doing the violence, killing, stabbing,

Truth does not matter to these people.


16 posted on 07/17/2017 7:21:58 AM PDT by Hostage (Article V)
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To: Kaslin

How far left have the Democrats gone when Alan Dershowitz becomes a right winger?


17 posted on 07/17/2017 7:23:49 AM PDT by Raycpa
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To: avenir

“Glad Dershowitz is displaying intellectual honesty here and, if only for our sakes,”

But he believes Hillary committed no crimes and he voted for her. I think he’s afraid his name will be exposed if/when The Elusive Jeff Sessions opens the pedophile island thing and this might buy him some favor with the current PTB.


18 posted on 07/17/2017 7:24:02 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ("Negative people make healthy people sick." - Roger Ailes)
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To: Rennes Templar

Needs to be repeated...LAWS DON’T MATTER IN A COUP! If anyone is listening to John Hinderacker (sp) filling in for Laura Ingraham. ...he is explaining how the Democrats are abusing the blue slip process what they are doing is illegal and Trump should be making recess appointments of some hundreds of nominees.


19 posted on 07/17/2017 7:25:10 AM PDT by goodnesswins (Say hello to President Trump)
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To: Buckeye Battle Cry

Right, and he still votes for the very thing he despises! Go figure.


20 posted on 07/17/2017 7:27:28 AM PDT by Bonemaker
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