In September 2025, social media posts authentically showed a note from lawyer Alan Dershowitz referencing Vanity Fair coverage in Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th-birthday album.
Language in the note and an accompanying fictional article suggested it was likely intended as a joke. Dershowitz had not responded to Snopes’ request for comment by the time of publication.
In September 2025, people on social media shared a note from lawyer Alan Dershowitz that was purportedly included in album of messages for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003. Epstein, who reportedly had ties to a number of high-profile people, died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
On Sept. 8, the U.S. House Oversight Committee released the birthday album after subpoenaing Epstein’s estate for various documents related to the late sex offender.
The alleged note from Dershowitz that social media users referenced was centered on coverage of Epstein in Vanity Fair. In the alleged note, Dershowitz referred to the magazine as “Vanity Unfair.”
Dershowitz, a retired Harvard Law School professor who once represented Epstein, also served as a consultant for consultant for Harvey Weinstein’s defense team and helped with President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense during his first term.
One X user wrote in a post (archived) on Sept. 9:
Alan Dershowitz admitted (in writing, in Epstein’s birthday book) that he got Vanity Fair to shift coverage away from Jeffrey Epstein and onto Bill Clinton. He called it a ‘birthday gift’ to Epstein.
The claim circulated elsewhere on X (archived), Threads (archived) and Reddit (archived).
Snopes reviewed the full 238-page document containing the birthday album (archived) the House Oversight Committee released and confirmed the note from Dershowitz appeared on Page 127, in a section labeled “Friends.”
The note, dated Dec. 11, 2002, was printed on Dershowitz’s letterhead and read:
As a birthday gift to you, I managed to obtain an early version of the Vanity Unfair article. I talked them into changing the focus from you to Bill Clinton, as you will see from the enclosed excerpt. Happy birthday and best regards.
(House Oversight Committee)
A mock magazine titled “Vanity Unfair” appeared on the next page, bearing fictional headlines like, “Who was Jack the Ripper? Was it Jeffrey Epstein?” and “Al-Qaeda in South America financed by Epstein.”
(House Oversight Committee)
Page 129 also included an excerpt from the fake article — titled “Who Was That Man with Epstein?” — that Dershowitz referenced in his note:
Inquiring minds are asking, “Who was that man with Epstein?” Jeffrey Epstein is, of course, one of the world’s most famous men, a household name throughout the planet. His picture has appeared on the cover of every magazine in the world. Everyone knows his story — from his humble roots on Coney Island to his rise as one of the most envied public figures in the western world. But what was he doing flying to Africa with an obscure former politician from Hope, Arkansas? Who is that politician and why would Epstein have picked him for the coveted seat on the private jet. Vanity Unfair was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery man and to reveal the story behind the story.
(House Oversight Committee)
He previously told the Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, that he “very possibly” sent Epstein a birthday card but had “no recollection of it.” He added that he did not know Epstein had committed any crimes at the time and that he “never renewed a personal relationship” with him after serving as his lawyer.
Though Dershowitz’s note appeared to be humorous, there has been controversy over Vanity Fair’s coverage of Epstein.
Vicky Ward, who worked as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair in 2002, claimed she interviewed two sisters who accused Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, of sexual abuse, but was unable to publish their stories, The New Yorker reported in February 2022 (archived). According to Ward, Epstein convinced the magazine’s editor, Graydon Carter, not to publish the sisters’ accounts.
However, The New Yorker report found inconsistencies in Ward’s account and noted that Carter offered “conflicting explanations for his magazine’s decision not to run the sisters’ allegations.” The report also noted that Ward frequently changed her account of the events, casting doubt on her claims.