Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz criticized the U.S. justice system during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News, condemning actors who use it to influence elections.
Dershowitz appeared on “Hannity” to discuss the justice system and has labeled it as essentially “unfixable.” Following Judge Juan Merchan’s third refusal to recuse himself from the case against former President Donald Trump, Dershowitz pointed to what he sees as entrenched double standards that could influence the upcoming presidential race.
Trump‘s sentencing is scheduled to take place on September 18. Merchan delayed the date, initially scheduled for July, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling finding presidents immune from prosecution for “official acts” taken in office.
“The one rule that we had violated is the most important rule of all. A single standard of justice without regard to who the person is. You know, the Bible commands judges do not recognize faces. Do not recognize political parties. Do not recognize partisanship. By the standards used by Judge Merchan to convict Donald Trump of a noncrime. You called it a novel crime, it’s not a crime at all. By that standard, the Bidens would be in jail for the rest of their lives,” Dershowitz told Sean Hannity when asked about his thoughts on the current justice system.
“I don’t think any of them should be prosecuted. But if you apply the Merchan standard, the standard of the New York case where there’s no crime at all, where there’s an expired misdemeanor, where they turn that into a felony. By that standard, the kinds of crimes that Hunter Biden has committed are rampant and without a doubt prosecutable.” (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Says Judge Merchan Will ‘Do Everything In His Power’ To Avoid Reversing Trump Conviction)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 20: American lawyer Alan Dershowitz returns to the courtroom during Former President Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court. (Photo by Sarah Yenesel-Pool/Getty Images)
The professor also expressed a preference for dropping charges against Trump, predicting that although Judge Juan Merchan might sentence Trump to prison, the sentence will likely be suspended.
“He’s going to say, I’m sentencing you to prison. You deserve imprisonment for this, but I’m going to suspend the sentence, or I’m going to delay the sentence. So that way he gets his cake and eats it.”
The professor pointed out that legal proceedings are being manipulated to sway electoral outcomes.
“It’s a manipulation of our justice system to affect elections, and that’s wrong,” Dershowitz said.
