Pop quiz: What do Claus Von Bulow, OJ Simpson, and Julian Assange have in common?

[Robb]

Oh, boy.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0211/Alan_Dershowitz_joins_Julian_Assange_defense_team.html">Alan Dershowitz joins Julian Assange defense team

Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz has joined the legal defense team for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The announcement--which came via a Tweeted press release Monday afternoon--took place a day ahead of the first showdown over Wikileaks in a U.S. courtroom: a hearing set for Tuesday in Alexandria, Va. on a request the Justice Department made for information about Twitter accounts maintained by three Wikileaks supporters.

"I'm serving as the legal consultant to them on American aspects of the issue, which at the moment is limited to the efforts to get this material," Dershowitz told me.

Asked why he got involved in the matter, Dershowitz said he sees important freedoms at stake in the battle and he rejects claims by government officials that Assange shouldn't be considered a journalist.....

Read More: http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0211/Alan_Dershowitz_joins_Julian_Assange_defense_team.html

Hopefully his advice does not extend to http://articles.sfgate.com/2002-01-22/opinion/17527284_1_physical-pressure-torture-terrorist">torture warrants. My well-worn irony meter has pegged yet again. :D

[girl gone mad]

1. When you have to resort to accusations of guilt by association..

there's a good chance your case is not very sound.

[girl gone mad]

4. Oh, and Dershowitz also consulted for and advocated on behalf of Al Gore..

during the 2000 recount.

So I guess that makes Al Gore ______??

[Luminous Animal]

5. Oh, I'd like to see Robb answer this.

[Robb]

6. I forgot, what did they arrest Gore for?

:D

[Buzz Clik]

10. In some circles, being a "policy wonk" is considered a crime.

However, I believe that Gore was left off with just a warning.

[AlabamaLibrul]

2. You mean the same high-profile lawyers are still being high-profile lawyers?

Unrec.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Oy. Send in the clowns.

"Asked why he got involved in the matter, Dershowitz said he sees important freedoms at stake in the battle..."

Important freedoms? Was that his motivation in taking on the Simpson case?

[Robb]

7. Defending the smears against men with a history of abusing women?

...Just how high Judge Ito should set that hurdle is, of course, subject to debate. One of Mr. Simpson's lawyers, Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School, said that because evidence of prior abuse does not prove anything -- only "junk science," he suggested, links it to murder -- questions of prejudice should prevail.

"Only a tiny, tiny fraction who engage in domestic discord end up becoming murderers," he said. "Unfortunately, a lot of people believe they do, and therefore it's extremely prejudicial to let it into evidence. O. J. Simpson is not on trial for domestic discord. He is on trial for the most serious crime imaginable."

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/11/us/for-judge-ito-a-question-of-how-high-to-set-the-evidence-hurdle.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm">(NYT, 1/11/95)

[Buzz Clik]

9. Well, there you have it. And all this time I thought I understood nuances.

;)

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Each was cited in the same DU thread started by DU moderator Robb.

[JackRiddler]

11. Hitler! Hitler! Hitler!

Come on, make us all happy and add HITLER!!!

Assange Hitler Assange Hitler Assange Hitler Assange Hitler Robb Assange Hitler Assange Hitler Assange Hitler Assange Hitler!!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

[PufPuf23]

12. Dershowitz is a publicity whore loser. kr

Assange is ill-advised to have taken this legal counsel.

Please elaborate on what you think Robb?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Von Bulow and O.J. were whistleblowers who embarrassed our "transparent" government?

Who knew?

[kenny blankenship]

14. This creepy obsession is getting harder & harder to pass off as just misplaced devotion to the Govt.

[Robb]

15. Bad accidents always slow down traffic.

Besides, this is getting tons of print. Someone upthread asked what I think about the move -- I think it's absurdly stupid.

If you can't see the newsworthiness of Assange, who claims to be afraid of being tortured at Gitmo, bringing on a lawyer who wrote an op-ed -- not a legal opinion, not part of a defense strategy for anyone, a freaking op-ed -- supporting the use of torture then you don't get how much editors love irony.