Starting Point: Alan Dershowitz’s public spats

 

August 11, 2025

Travis Andersen Reporter Email: travis.andersen@globe.com Good morning. I’m Travis Andersen, a reporter on the Express Desk. In light of Alan Dershowitz’s recent dust-up at a Martha’s Vineyard farmers market, I’m taking a look back at various imbroglios involving the famous lawyer. (Ian Prasad Philbrook will be back tomorrow.) But first, here’s what else is going on: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a heat emergency for the city. A 3-year-old girl was found dead inside a car in Milford, Maine. State police arrested her mother. The Trump administration is putting FBI agents on night patrol in D.C. Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com. To subscribe, sign up here. TODAY’S STARTING POINT Alan Dershowitz (right) and Larry David reportedly got into heated exchange at a Martha’s Vineyard store in August, 2021. WIRES Alan Dershowitz recently threatened a lawsuit over a pierogi stand on Martha’s Vineyard that refused to sell him food for what a co-owner of the business said was his representation of notorious figures such as Jeffrey Epstein. The public spat and litigation threat, which Dershowitz appeared to walk back in a text message, telling the Globe he’ll be “satisfied” if the market hosting the stand requires vendors to sell to everyone, is nothing new for the famed attorney, best-selling author, and retired Harvard Law School professor. May it please the court, here’s a look back at some of the various imbroglios. Losing Larry Who among the Vineyard’s starry roster of summer residents, a list that’s long included Dershowitz, could forget his acrimonious encounter with comedian Larry David on the porch of a popular island store in August of 2021? Here’s how the dispute played out, according to the New York Post’s Page Six: “We can still talk, Larry,” Dershowitz reportedly said to David on the porch after trying to greet the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator and getting an unenthusiastic response. Dershowitz and David used to be friends, Dershowitz later told Page Six. “No. No. We really can’t. I saw you. I saw you with your arm around [former Trump Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo! It’s disgusting!” David reportedly responded. Dershowitz told David that Pompeo was a former student of his at Harvard: “I greet all of my former students that way. I can’t greet my former students?” “It’s disgusting,” David repeated, according to the paper. “Your whole enclave — it’s disgusting. You’re disgusting!” Dershowitz then, according to a Page Six witness, took off his T-shirt to reveal another one underneath it. The front read: “It’s The Constitution, Stupid!” David walked away, and Dershowitz reportedly drove off “in an old dirty Volvo,” said Page Six. Suing CNN In 2020, Dershowitz filed a $300 million federal libel lawsuit against CNN, alleging the news network attempted to damage his reputation by misrepresenting a statement he made during President Trump’s first impeachment trial. Dershowitz was among several lawyers representing Trump, who was acquitted. “It was a coordinated smear, done deliberately and with malice aforethought,” Dershowitz said when the suit was filed. On Jan. 29, 2020, in response to a question from Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Dershowitz discussed possible motives for a quid pro quo arrangement, such as the one Trump was accused of making with Ukraine, according to legal filings. Dershowitz said a deal made to help get a politician elected would not be grounds for impeachment if the politician believed their election to be in the public interest, as most do. But, he also noted as he began his response to Cruz, “The only thing that would make a quid pro quo unlawful is if the quo were somehow illegal,” meaning a president could be impeached and removed from office if they broke the law, regardless of motive, according to court documents. CNN repeatedly aired a clip of Dershowitz’s statement that omitted the opening remark, according to the filing, and several hosts and guests on the network said “that Professor Dershowitz believes and argued that as long as the President believes his reelection is in the public interest, that he could do anything at all — including illegal acts — and be immune from impeachment,” according to court documents. A Florida judge tossed the suit in 2023, records show, and Dershowitz appealed. The appeal remains pending, according to legal filings. Tension with Toobin Speaking of CNN, Dershowitz had a dustup with one of his well-known former students, the attorney and commentator Jeffrey Toobin, during an appearance on the network in March 2018, at a time when Dershowitz was making waves with his public criticism of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Trump. Not mincing his words, Toobin accused Dershowitz of “carrying water” for the president, real estate mogul, and former game-show host. “I don’t know what’s going on with you,” said an exasperated Toobin, who later faced troubles of his own over a compromising Zoom-fail. In response, Dershowitz said he’s always opposed special counsel investigations. “I have been utterly and completely consistent and nonpartisan,” he said. A knock on Netflix In 2021, Dershowitz filed an $80 million defamation lawsuit against Netflix over his portrayal in the “Filthy Rich” series about Epstein, a convicted sex offender who hobnobbed with the rich and powerful before his 2019 death in custody while awaiting federal trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide. The defamation suit, filed in Miami, said Netflix intentionally misled Dershowitz regarding his appearance in the series and defamed him by falsely asserting he had sex with one of Epstein’s many victims. Netflix countersued, and all claims were dismissed “with prejudice” in March 2022, meaning neither side can refile, records show. Going after the Garden In 2015, Dershowitz filed suit against TD Garden, nearly three years after he slipped and fell in an arena bathroom during a Celtics game, which he blamed on a depleted supply of paper towels near the sinks. “The bathroom at this time — and plaintiff believes for at least 60 minutes before his entry into the restroom — had no paper towels to allow male patrons to dry their hands post washing of them,” said his civil complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court. “This dangerous condition allowed water from the recently washed hands of each of the myriad bathroom users to drip or be ‘shaken’ onto the floor, negligently creating a hazardous situation for all users.” Dershowitz told the Globe at the time that he didn’t want to sue the Garden, but with no agreement in place and a three-year statute of limitations looming, he felt he had no choice. The suit said he “violently slipped, causing him to fall upward and then hard upon the tile floor and severely twisting his right knee and leg, landing on his back.” The parties filed a joint dismissal notice in 2017, shortly after indicating in court papers that they were “in the process of finalizing settlement and exchanging proceeds,” records show. Material from the Associated Press and from prior Globe stories was used in this report. Read more: Dumpling makers are delighting over the newfound attention: “It‘s given the pierogi a name and some fame again.” 🧩 7 Across: Pseudonym | 🥵 94° The heat returns POINTS OF INTEREST Union do’s: Coming off a string of electoral and bargaining victories, the state’s largest teachers union could get involved in more local elections such as the mayoral races in Beverly and Newton. Academic ties: Harvard President Alan Garber’s former student is head of the NIH and now holds the keys to Harvard’s future. Deep cuts: The Trump administration’s Medicaid cuts have dealt a damaging blow to federally qualified health centers, including some New England health centers. Solar eclipse: A $7 billion program to get solar to low- and moderate-income people has been canceled by the Trump administration. Here’s what it means locally. Life sciences bust: The amount of lab space in Greater Boston has doubled in the past five years, and now vacancy rates are at record highs. What happens now? Beef is the new eggs: Beef prices are soaring in the US, with the average price of a pound of ground beef hitting $6.12 in June, a nearly 12 percent increase over last year. (WTAJ) Chikungunya virus: Outbreaks have prompted the CDC to issue travel alerts warning US travelers of an “elevated risk” of exposure to the mosquito-borne illness in China and several other countries. (Axios) Possible motive: The man suspected of opening fire on CDC buildings in Atlanta had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him sick and depressed, authorities said. (ABC News) Newsom responds: California Governor Gavin Newsom said President Trump’s demand that UCLA pay a $1 billion fee to get its federal funding restored amounted to “political extortion.” (Reuters) Land “swap”: The deal that may result from the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladymir Putin in Alaska could eviscerate Ukraine. (CNN) BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 🗓️ Free summer events: Jamaica Plain PorchFest, jazz and free dinner in South Boston, an African Festival on the Common, and more no-cost things to do this week. 📺 This week’s TV: John Slattery in “The Rainmaker,” a Kansas City Chiefs docuseries, “Alien: Earth,” and more things to watch. 🐚 Sand fleas: Last week, Beth Teitel lamented space-hogging luxury tents on beaches. Now she’s targeting the people on beaches: Annoying, messy, loud, and inconsiderate. ✏️ No bell: The last one-room schoolhouse in Massachusetts is on Cuttyhunk Island. Even though it sits empty most of the year, it can’t be closed: Some kid might move onto the island full-time. 🎵 Sound of summer: There’s no particular song of summer this year. But there is a sound, if you use TikTok: “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday,” played over images of things going hopelessly awry. (Axios) Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by Teresa Hanafin. ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at startingpoint@globe.com. ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy. 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday.