Alan Dershowitz weighs in on Covington libel lawsuit, calls it ‘reasonable’

Alan Dershowitz was asked his thoughts on the libel case being brought against the Washington Post by the Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann, and he feels the case is very reasonable:

THE HILL – Attorney Alan Dershowitz on Wednesday told Hill.TV’s “Rising” that he believes that Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has a “reasonable case” in his lawsuit against The Washington Post over its coverage of a confrontation between Sandmann and a Native American elder in Washington, D.C.

“I think they have a reasonable case, I mean the world was guilty of libel,” Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor and contributor at The Hill, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton of the case.

“These poor kids seemed to be doing exactly the right thing, and then suddenly because they are thought to be white, privileged kids, suddenly everyone’s ganging up on them,” he continued.

When someone like Dershowitz says they have a ‘reasonable case’, I think that really means they have a great shot at winning.

But Dershowitz does think they are asking for an unserious amount of money.

Despite that, he says they have a ‘significant’ case against Washington Post:

“I’d be interested to see how the case unfolds, I mean they’re asking for a lot of money, I don’t think that’s going to be taken too seriously,” he said. “But I do think that they have a significant case and it will be interesting to see how The Post defends against their reporting in the case.”

“It’s important to air this issue out in the public, and one of the functions that a suit like this has is to lay it all out in the public,” he continued. “The media has to be responsible for their reporting particularly when you have kids who have no ability generally to defend themselves against media reporting.”

Dershowitz added at the end of the interview that it’s important to remember that Sandmann is not a public figure like the president of the United States. He’s a private person who had all of this thrust upon him and subsequently his “reputation has been diminished in the eyes of some”.

He is right to point out that so many were guilty of libel, not just the Washington Post. And their lawsuits are coming soon!


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