BBC Apologizes For Interviewing Alan Dershowitz on Ghislaine Maxwell Verdict Despite Being Accused by Epstein Victim
The BBC is apologizing for interviewing Alan Dershowitz about Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction despite his entanglement in the saga of Jeffrey Epstein.
BBC News spoke to Dershowitz for his take shortly after Maxwell was found guilty for 5 of the 6 charges she faced as Epstein’s accomplice for his sex trafficking of young women. The network’s decision to speak with Dershowitz struck some people as odd, however, because of the fact that Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre has accused Dershowitz of sexually abusing her back when he was Epstein’s lawyer.
Dershowitz was introduced on BBC News without any disclaimer of his connection to the Epstein case. He proceeded to attack Giuffre for the credibility of her accusations against himself and Prince Andrew, plus he celebrated the fact that prosecutors didn’t call Giuffre as a witness in Maxwell’s trial.
Hours after Dershowitz’s interview aired, the BBC released a statement acknowledging that the segment “did not meet the BBC’s editorial standards,” and they should’ve provided more context.
Last night’s interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the BBC’s editorial standards, as Mr. Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience. We will look into how this happened.
Statement on interview with Alan Dershowitz pic.twitter.com/MlXkqdJI8u
— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) December 30, 2021
Dershowitz also appeared on Fox News last night, where he continued to rail against Giuffre and suggested she might’ve actually been a co-conspirator in Epstein’s sex crimes.
UPDATE – 10:44 a.m. ET: Dershowitz gave Newsweek a response to the BBC’s statement:
I made full disclosure of Virginia Giuffre’s false accusation against me before expressing my opinion about the prosecution’s wise decision not to vouch for her credibility by using her as a witness in the Maxwell case. The media has repeatedly interviewed alleged victims of Epstein and Maxwell regarding the Maxwell case. It is entirely appropriate for the media to interview a victim of Giuffre’s perjury as long as there is full disclosure and no-one is misled.
