High-profile defense attorney Alan Dershowitz , who was a part of President Donald Trump ‘s impeachment legal team, recently claimed in an interview with Breitbart News that billionaire George Soros told then-President Barack Obama to investigate someone whose identity will be soon revealed.
According to Dershowitz, the target of the alleged investigation will be revealed in a lawsuit he claims will be coming “in the near future.” He also noted that such a request is “not unusual” and said that people “whisper” to presidents and the Department of Justice (DOJ) “all the time.”
“It’s very common,” he said. “It’s wrong, whoever does it, but it’s common, and we shouldn’t think that it’s unique to any particular president. I have in my possession the actual 302 form [an FBI record of an interview], which documents this issue, and it will, at the right time, come out. But I’m not free to disclose it now because it’s a case that’s not yet been filed.”
Soros is a prominent left-wing activist who at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland recently accused Facebook of attempting to help Trump get re-elected. He previously attacked social media companies like Facebook for what he believes is an intentional strategy to create addictive services, which he claims do harm — especially to young people.
Conversely, Dershowitz has spoken frequently spoken in defense of Trump in recent months. Although Dershowitz, a liberal Democrat, claims he may not vote for Trump in 2020, he has been vocal in his opinion that the president did not commit impeachable offenses.
“President @BarackObama personally asked the @FBI to investigate somebody on behalf of #GeorgeSoros …” – @AlanDersh on @BreitbartNews Sunday with @joelpollak . For #dershowitz ‘s full commentary on #WilliamBarr , #RogerStone , and the #Impeachment trial, go to @siriusxm OnDemand! pic.twitter.com/KM7szKoH3s
— SiriusXM Patriot (@SiriusXMPatriot) February 17, 2020
The 81-year-old academic controversially argued that Trump’s quid pro quo with Ukraine was in the public interest and thus, not impeachable. The argument drew backlash from many who suggested that the precedent means former President Richard Nixon’s behavior was also not impeachable.
Dershowitz also claimed that impeachable offenses require criminal-like behavior, which runs contrary to the legal consensus that the U.S. Constitution does not specify that statutory crimes are necessary for impeachment. Notably, Independent Congressman Justin Amash and Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano both argued opposite to Dershowitz and pointed to the high crimes and misdemeanors charge, which they note relates to abuses of high office.
The controversial defense attorney — who has defended Jeffrey Epstein and O.J. Simpson — also used his Breitbart News interview to touch on the Roger Stone charges. Dershowitz expressed his belief that Stone deserves a new trial due to the alleged political bias within the jury.