Did CNN Make Alan Dershowitz Look Like He ‘Lost His Mind?’ Lawsuit Claims It Did

Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has filed a $300 million lawsuit against CNN, claiming the network defamed him and took his words out of context as he defended President Trump during the January impeachment hearings.

In the lawsuit, Dershowitz, 82, accuses CNN of purposely airing only one segment of his argument, which he claims was chosen in an attempt to destroy his creditability and make him look as if he had "lost his mind," The Wrap reports.

Dershowitz, who represented Trump during the impeachment hearings, said at the time, “Every public official that I know believes that his election is in the public interest, and mostly, you’re right — your election is in the public interest, and if a president does something which he believes will help him get elected, in the public interest — that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment. For it to be impeachable, you would have to discern that he or she made a decision solely on the basis of corrupt motives.”

CNN repeatedly aired what Dershowitz called a “one-sided and false narrative.” He continued in the lawsuit by stating that the aired clip was misleading and discredited his legal experience as he was defending Trump.

“Following the airing of that clip over and over again, the hosts, together with their panel guests, including CNN employees and paid commentators, exploded into a one-sided and false narrative 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,” the lawsuit reads.

“The very notion of that was preposterous and foolish on its face, and that was the point: to falsely paint Professor Dershowitz as a constitutional scholar and intellectual who had lost his mind.”

The lawsuit goes on to state that “Professor Dershowitz appears to have made one mistake. He chose to defend the President of the United States and defend the U.S. Constitution at moment in time where CNN has decided that doing so is not permitted. For this, CNN set out to punish him and destroy his credibility and reputation, and unfortunately, succeeded.”

MSN reports Dershowitz is seeking $50 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday.