Prosecutors allegedly colluded with Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers to downplay federal charges and secure a lenient plea

wrote, explaining that the defendant’s past was evidence of predatory behavior that watranted a harsher sentence because he may pose a danger to the community. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lourie was assigned to try to correct the record and persuade the judge to strike a portion of his comments. They argued that since McDaniel had never before been charged with a crime, the history was not relevant at sentencing. The defendant’s prior relationship with a 16-year-old was not illegal in Texas or in California, they said, and the girl classified her relationship as a friendship. All the relevant information was provided to the probation department and at McDaniel’s detention hearing, they added, making the point that it was in the record and therefore, not intentionally withheld by the government. While Zloch conceded that the information was part of the probation and bond hearing record, he said it was nevertheless the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s duty to present the defendant’s prior history with minors at sentencing. He refused to strike the most critical portions of his order. “Lack of candor to the court is a serious charge, and the judge has quite reasonably expressed dismay that the assistant U.S. attorney apparently intended that he never be given a full picture of the defendant’s conduct,” Hakes said. But nine months later, in September 2007, Villafafia was in the throes of thorny negotiations with Epstein’s lawyers. While an FBI investigation was ongoing, Villafafia discussed ways to quietly resolve the case, emails show. <4 A Miami Herald investigation, “Perversion of Justice,” published in November, revealed how federal prosecutors, including Acosta and Villafafia, tried to keep the full scope of Epstein’s crimes out of the public eye. At one point, they discussed charging Epstein in Miami, instead of Palm Beach where the crimes happened, noting there would be less media coverage. Emails also show that prosecutors repeatedly abided by Epstein’s lawyers’ demands that his victims not be told that an agreement had been reached until after he was sentenced. That meant that the girls could not appear at the hearing to derail the deal. Prosecutors had drafted a 53-page federal indictment on sex trafficking charges, but Acosta instead allowed Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in state court. In exchange, Epstein and his co-conspirators were given federal immunity. Villafafia wrote Epstein’s lawyer, Jay Lefkowitz, to discuss the wording of the sentencing agreement for the judge: HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021755