Alan Dershowitz condemns DOJ phone surveillance of defense lawyers on Oct. 10, 2026
On Oct. 10, 2026, Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz publicly condemned Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice for employing a pen‑register device to monitor phone calls between defense attorneys.
Dershowitz said the practice constitutes a clear violation of privacy expectations and raises serious concerns about the balance between law‑enforcement tools and constitutional safeguards, especially as the nation watches high‑profile federal prosecutions.
“What we need are Justice Department rules that are enforceable, that indicate when you can do what investigative tasks,” Dershowitz told Just the News. “You can't leave it only up to the Constitution and the courts because something can be constitutional and still very very dangerous for civil liberties, like tracking people's phone calls.”
He added that the current system leaves decisions to “Jack Smiths of the world,” a situation he described as insufficient protection for civil liberties. Dershowitz called for congressional hearings to establish clear guidelines on when phone surveillance is permissible.
Documents released earlier this month show that Smith’s team obtained long‑distance phone records and text messages of several members of Congress and tracked at least 21 defense lawyers’ calls to and from the phone of Trump adviser Susie Wiles while pursuing two separate criminal cases against the former president.
Republican lawmakers and some legal experts labeled the surveillance “excessive and intrusive,” while Smith defended the tactic during a recent Senate hearing, saying he would repeat it if given the chance. Dershowitz warned that the government’s access to who defense attorneys contact could give prosecutors a “tremendous advantage” and potentially reveal names of witnesses.
The professor emeritus said Smith could face civil lawsuits or disciplinary action against his bar license for the aggressive tactics. He argued that allowing such surveillance to go unchecked would erode protections for all Americans.
As the debate unfolds, Dershowitz’s remarks add momentum to calls for the Justice Department to develop enforceable rules governing phone surveillance and for Congress to hold oversight hearings on the matter.
