Harvard constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz took aim at the attempt to disbar Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for objecting to the Electoral College certification, comparing the effort to “McCarthyism.”
“The idea that 5,000 law students and professors want to disbar them because they disagree with what they said, just returns McCarthyism in a new form,” Dershowitz said during an appearance on Real America’s Voice. “It’s very, very frightening how many people are prepared to undo our Constitution in the interest of preventing Trump from spending his last five, six, seven days in office.”
“The idea that 5,000 law students and professors want to disbar them because they disagree with what they said, just returns to McCarthyism in a new form,…” @AlanDersh joined @DavidBrodyCBN to discuss attempts to cancel GOP senators for objecting to the electoral votes. pic.twitter.com/guChm2ssbS
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) January 11, 2021
Dershowitz added that not only is McCarthyism “alive and well,” but that “it’s stronger than ever.”
“When I was a young man, we fought McCarthyism,” Dershowitz said. “President Eisenhower stood up against it. The dean of the Harvard Law School stood up against it. Today, nobody is standing up against this form of McCarthyism because they’re afraid.”
Dershowitz pointed out that not only did he disagree with Cruz and Hawley, but that he was a “liberal Democrat.” But that hasn’t stopped people from attempting to cancel him as well.
“Look, I am a liberal Democrat. I don’t support all of President Trump’s policies,” Dershowitz said. “I support some and not others as I do with any president. But I am now tagged as someone who is pro-Trump … I’m being canceled. It’s so scary.”
“I can fight back, obviously. But young law students are terrified,” Dershowitz continued. “If they say anything in class or out of class which suggests that they support President Trump’s rights under the constitution, they risk not having recommendations, they risk being canceled, risk being socially ostracized.”
Dershowitz concluded by slamming college campuses, calling them “propaganda” mills.
“There’s no debate going on on campus. It’s a one-sided propaganda mill.”
Cruz and Hawley led the GOP effort in the Senate to object to certifying the Electoral College results, citing concerns over voting irregularities and fraud. During a debate on certifying Arizona’s results, a pro-Trump mob descended on the Capitol, breaching security and working their way inside. Lawmakers were forced to flee their legislative chambers, not returning until early the next morning to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Some critics blamed Cruz and Hawley for the chaos that erupted at the Capitol, including a group of over 7,000 law school alumni and students who signed a petition demanding the GOP duo be disbarred for their “efforts to undermine the peaceful transition of power after a free and fair election.”
“The senators’ actions to undermine democracy by spreading false claims of voter fraud and inciting insurrection violated the ethical and professional obligations of all members of the bar, and as aspiring lawyers, we thought it was important to speak up,” said Yale Law School Student Daniel Ki, one of those who started the petition to disbar the senators.
