Every summer, renowned lawyer Alan Dershowitz never fails to remind the media that he is supposedly spurned by his fellow Martha’s Vineyard residents. Indeed, it has turned into an
anticipated annual tradition
akin to Groundhog Day or the yearly State Fair. This year, Dershowitz’s outcry made its way onto Greta Van Susteren’s Newsmax program, where he complained about the biased selection at the local book fair.
Dershowitz contends that his books, despite him allegedly writing more than any other person in Martha’s Vineyard history, are being “canceled” and are not sold at the local book fair – a claim that he attributes to his defense of former President Donald Trump.
Continuing to justify his actions while criticizing the people he blames for his perceived social isolation, Dershowitz perceives himself as a champion of principles standing against injustice. However, his perception of being sidelined, he believes, arises from his representation of Trump during the first impeachment proceedings, where he revived Richard Nixon’s ‘it’s not illegal if the president does it’ argument.
Despite Dershowitz’s claims, attributing the locals’ frustration to his defense strategy alone might be underselling the issue. Many Martha’s Vineyard residents seem to take issue with Dershowitz’s controversial legal and media engagements, including suggesting that
Jeffrey Epstein should have received a lighter sentence, his
representation of the MyPillow CEO on far-fetched religious freedom claims, and his
involvement in baseless election fraud allegations in Arizona, which resulted in sanctions.
Some speculate that the alleged snub by the Martha’s Vineyard Book Fair might have been influenced by the recent sanctions and federal judge’s severe reprimand aimed at Dershowitz – with the assumption that selling legal commentary from such a figure could be challenging.
While Dershowitz may cry foul over what he perceives as ‘cancel culture,’ he appears to get quite a fair amount of national media exposure. Furthermore, it’s interesting to note how he uses these platforms to frequently present himself as a victim of this phenomenon while bemoaning his perceived social reclusion on Martha’s Vineyard.