New York Daily News

Dershowitz joins Harv’s legal team

- BY STEPHEN REX BROWN

Noted Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz has joined Harvey Weinstein’s legal fight over emails the disgraced movie mogul’s accusers fear he may make public.

Dershowitz filed papers seeking to join Weinstein’s legal team in an ongoing case in Manhattan Federal Court brought by women, including actress Louisette Geiss. She and nine others allege Weinstein ran a racketeeri­ng operation in which he sexually abused women he met through the film business.

The suit seeks class-action status, and attorneys for Geiss have said they are concerned Weinstein plans to release emails with them to the public in an effort to show he did not commit sexual assault.

“I agreed to consult on the constituti­onal issues involving the emails. Let the whole truth come out and let the public judge,” Dershowitz said.

“There are exculpator­y emails. They’re emails from people who have accused him strongly suggesting the accusation­s are false.”

Dershowitz (photo) said the legal battle over the emails was “in a state of flux,” so he could not describe their content.

Judge Alvin Hellerstei­n, who is presiding over the Geiss case, has previously indicated he’s reluctant to order the emails be kept secret.

“If this is a media fight, I can’t interfere with that,” he said in a hearing last month.

Elizabeth Fegan, a lawyer for Weinstein accusers, said the emails’ release won’t change the facts of the case.

“A husband can rape a wife. And a woman whose career is on the line can e-mail her perpetrato­r,” Fegan wrote.

“Weinstein’s defense is old, tired and will not withstand the long line of women who will testify as to the way in which Weinstein manipulate­d women who had to deal with him even after he assaulted them because he held the keys to Hollywood.”

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