Dershowitz: Even if Cohen’s Claims Are True, ‘It’s Not a Crime’ – It’s ‘A Political Problem’

On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz stated that if Michael Cohen’s claims about President Trump’s knowledge of Donald Trump Jr.’s Russia meeting are true, it’s “a big deal from a political and public relations point of view,” but it isn’t a legal issue.

Dershowitz said, “Oh, it’s a political problem, to be sure, but I don’t think it’s a legal problem. Even if the president knew of the meeting, knew exactly the role of the woman who was there, that she was representing the Russian government, and even knew that they were going to go to try to collect dirt that had already been gotten by the Russians on Hillary Clinton, that would be a political sin, but it wouldn’t be a federal crime. And I think if this is the best that Cohen has to offer, I don’t think he’s going to be given immunity by the federal prosecutors. He may have to compose, and not only sing, in order to get that…because this isn’t very much, from a legal point of view. It’s a big deal from a political and public relations point of view, but legally, it’s a 3 on a scale of 10, maybe.”

He added, “I think the big picture is that even if everything he says is true, it’s not a crime. … Even if the president actively sought material dirt on Hillary Clinton, terrible thing, but even if he sought it, but the dirt had already been gathered, and he wasn’t asking them to hack the DNC or do anything criminal, that would not be a crime. It would show, quote, perhaps collusion, but there’s nothing in the federal code that makes collusion itself a crime.”

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