Legal brief argues federal trafficking statutes misapplied in local Florida case against Mr. Epstein

ALLEN GUTHRIE MCHUGH & THOMAS, PLLC Mr. John Roth June 19, 2008 Page 4 text and history indicate, these statutes were designed to address problems that are truly national and international in scope: human trafficking in § 1591; telephone or Internet sexual predation in § 2422; and sex tourism in § 2423. Unlike the alleged conduct at issue here, those problems unquestionably present multi-jurisdictional obstacles that States and localities cannot confront effectively on their own. Mr. Epstein’s conduct was purely local in nature, and the State of Florida and Palm Beach County are effectively prosecuting and punishing that conduct. Although CEOS asserts, “that a prosecution of Mr. Epstein might not look precisely like the cases that came before it is not dispositive” (CEOS letter at p. 4), the fact is this case does not look anything like those cases. The facts here do not carry any of the hallmarks that typify an appropriate federal prosecution for child exploitation as reflected in all such prior federal prosecutions. Specifically, the facts here do not carry the hallmarks for a sex trafficking or child prostitution prosecution.. Mr. Epstein did not target minors. In fact, the evidence indicates just the opposite. There was no travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity. There was no prohibited use ofa facility of interstate commerce. There was no commercial for profit sexual enterprise. There was no force. There was no violence. There was no use of drugs or alcohol. There was no child pornography. . 18 U.S.C. § 1591 is clearly designed to combat organized rings of individuals who engage in the business of human trafficking, involving both a commercial and coercive component. As President Bush has noted: generally speaking, trafficking in persons refers to actions, often including the use of force, fraud or coercion, to compel someone into a situation in which he or she will be exploited for sexual purposes, which could include prostitution or pornography, or for labor without compensation, which could include forced or bonded labor. . . trafficking in persons is often linked to organized crime, and the profits from trafficking enterprises help fund other illegal activities. The growth of vast transnational criminal networks supported in part by trafficking in persons fosters official corruption and threatens the rule of law.” This in no way describes the case here. Yet the USAO has been unwavering in its single minded focus to stretch the limits of these federal statutes beyond their intended use, and beyond precedent, in order to prosecute Mr. Epstein. As the CEOS letter acknowledges, the legal theories the USAO intends to attempt to pursue against Mr. Epstein are “novel,” having never before been sanctioned by federal law. They should not be sanctioned now. As the Supreme Court recently pronounced, when a statutory term in a criminal statute could support both a narrow or broad application of the federal criminal law, “the tie must go to the defendant.” United States v. Santos, 553 U.S.___ and Cuellar v. United States, 553 U.S ___ (June 2, 2008), Slip Op. at 6. 2 February 25, 2003 Trafficking in Persons National Security Presidential Directive. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012186