'Intentionally lying': Alan Dershowitz slammed for defending Trump and saying 'there was no insurrection'

WASHINGTON, DC: Defense attorney Alan Dershowitz criticized the Colorado Supreme Court decision keeping Donald Trump off the state's primary ballot and said that what occurred in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not an insurrection.

Dershowitz, a member of the former President's defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020, defended Trump in a discussion on 'Rob Schmitt Tonight' aired on Newsmax this Thursday, December 21.

"There was no insurrection there. There was a public demonstration that got out of hand. That's not an insurrection. We've had insurrections in our history; this was not one of them," the lawyer stated.

According to CBS News, the December 19 ruling by the Colorado SC, besides barring Trump from the state's primary ballot that is scheduled in March 2024, also disqualified him from holding the presidency under the Constitution's insurrection clause. 

Alan Dershowitz says Colorado SC decision will not stand SCOTUS review

Dershowitz, a constitutional law expert, added that the state SC ruling will not stand the SCOTUS review as individual states do not have jurisdiction over constitutional matters.

"Colorado just said we can make that determination even though Section 5 says you can't," he told Schmitt. "I think it will not survive the test of history. I don't think it'll survive the test of Supreme Court review, but nobody knows because the Supreme Court often stays out of political cases," Dershowitz added.

"But if I had to make a guess, I would say the court will grant the stay and then hear oral argument and then invoke Section 5 and say, 'Look, if Congress wants to do this, fine; but you can't have state courts do this."

The historic ruling against the leading GOP presidential candidate led to fierce reactions from Republicans against the court decision and Democrats praising it.

Alan Dershowitz points out only Congress can define insurrection

The attorney defended Trump, saying that the right to define insurrection solely lies in the hands of Congress.

"What is an insurrection? It's not defined, and it should be defined. And only Congress can define it. But the Colorado Supreme Court has no jurisdiction under Section 5 to have anything to say about this Constitutional provision," Dershowitz said.

Slamming the Colorado SC's move, GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to withdraw from the state ballot until Trump is reinstated. Similarly, the Colorado GOP threatened to abstain from the primary, unfolding a new set of political drama.

Internet criticizes Alan Dershowitz

Internet users are outraged at Dershowitz for defending Trump by claiming January 6 incident was not an insurrection. Social media reactions labeled the attorney 'awful' and an 'embarrassment'.

One user said, "And it's this type of intentionally lying to people, who actually saw the insurrection & and even heard Republicans blame Trump, that keeps the good folks on Martha's Vineyard, from inviting Dersch from their parties."

Another user noted, "Dershowitz is just as bad as Guillani. How far they fall...."

"Another hack masquerading as a lawyer," remarked a third user.

A fourth user pointed out, "Oh Alan, you lawyers love to parse words and events. The storming of the Capitol was one element in a wider conspiracy that also included fake electors, pressuring political leaders and public misinformation. They were trying to overthrow the government. That’s an insurrection."

"Gaslighting at its finest," read one reaction.

Another added, "His words are awful ! We saw what we saw !" While another user said, "Alan Derschewitz is such an embarrassment."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.