‘New McCarthyism Comes to Harvard’: Dershowitz Goes Off After Dean is Axed For Repping Harvey Weinstein

Alan Dershowitz — one of the most famous legal scholars in American history — has been associated with Harvard Law for more than a half century. (First as a professor, and now as a professor emeritus.) But despite the half-century plus affiliation, Dershowitz is irate with the school over the dismissal of a Dean who is representing disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

In a Tweetstorm on Sunday, Dershowitz went off over the removal of Ronald J. Sullivan as dean of Winthrop House — a residential house for undergrads — amid an outcry from students over his ouster from the position.

“The new McCarthyism comes to Harvard,” Dershowitz wrote. “The firing of Dean Sullivan reminds me of the bad old days when lawyers were fired for representing communists, gay people, civil rights demonstrators and women seeking abortions.”

The new McCarthyism comes to Harvard. The firing of Dean Sullivan reminds me of the bad old days when lawyers were fired for representing communists, gay people, civil rights demonstrators and women seeking abortions. https://t.co/oNhXgpr2CC

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) May 12, 2019

Sullivan’s wife, Stephanie Robinson, who served in the same post, was also ousted for contributing to what the administration deemed an “untenable” climate. Sullivan and Robinson were the first African-American faculty deans in the history of the school.

Dershowitz blasted students who said they felt threatened by Sullivan and Robinson.

“This may be the worst violation of academic freedom during my 55 year association with Harvard,” Dershowitz said. “Any student who feels ‘unsafe’ in the presence of Dean Sullivan and his wife does not belong at a university.

This may be the worst violation of academic freedom during my 55 year association with Harvard. Any student who feels “unsafe “in the presence of Dean Sullivan and his wife does not belong at a university.

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) May 12, 2019

“Feeling unsafe” is the new mantra of the new McCarthyism. It’s an excuse for firing anyone, from a Republican to a Muslim.

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) May 12, 2019

If the students who demanded the firing of Sullivan had been around in 1776, John Adams would have been fired as an author of the Declaration because he made them feel unsafe for representing the Brits accused of the Boston Massacre. Shame on these student McCarthyites.

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) May 12, 2019

In a statement (via The New York Times), Rakesh Khurana — the Dean of Harvard College — outlined the adminstration’s reasoning for the ousters.

“Over the last few weeks, students and staff have continued to communicate concerns about the climate in Winthrop House to the college,” he wrote. “The concerns expressed have been serious and numerous. The actions that have been taken to improve the climate have been ineffective, and the noticeable lack of faculty dean presence during critical moments has further deteriorated the climate in the house. I have concluded that the situation in the house is untenable.”

Sullivan and Robinson will remain on as Harvard Law professors.

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