EFTA Document EFTA01733575

A statement by Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers With the latest flurry of tabloid reports that continue to perpetuate the wildly inaccurate, exaggerated and, indeed, fabricated statements regarding Mr. Epstein, we believe a statement about the actual events and circumstances involving Mr. Epstein is now required to set the record straight. First, President Clinton has never, not a single time ever, even stepped foot on Mr. Epstein's island in the Caribbean. Any description of dinners, people in attendance and their places at the dinner table on Mr. Epstein's island are all part of the same imagined fairy tale, which has been paid for handsomely by irresponsible journalists and repeated all too eagerly by the media. Second, Mr. Epstein has never even met Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, so they too could never have been on Mr. Epstein's island, although this too has been falsely reported in the media with skillful embellishment about what a lovely couple the two seemed to be. Third, Mr. Trump's representatives have confirmed repeatedly that Mr. Trump has never engaged in any sexual conduct of any kind in Mr. Epstein's presence, although we understand why the media would wish to perpetuate such a sensational tale at the height of the presidential election. Fourth, Mr. Epstein's criminal conviction, a matter of public record readily available to even a novice reporter, has been carelessly and inaccurately sensationalized in the media. In fact, he was convicted of two offenses, one count of solicitation of prostitution without reference to the age of any female, and a second count of procuring a single person under the age of 18 for prostitution. For these offenses, Mr. Epstein received a 30-month sentence, consisting of 18 months of incarceration and 12 months of closely supervised and very restricted probation. While he served that sentence, he was not housed by himself in a private or special wing of the jail, as has been widely and inaccurately reported. He was housed in one of many cells located in a particular wing of the jail where other inmates were also housed at the same time. Like Mr. Epstein, each of those inmates was restricted from contact with the others, but all were housed at the same time in the same area of the jail. Mr. Epstein served 13 months of that 18-month sentence in jail, receiving the same "gain" time that would be received by each and every person, whether rich or poor, who serves time in jail for similar offenses and behaves properly during incarceration. His release was not a matter of any special treatment, but the administration of regular policy applicable to all who are jailed in Palm Beach County. As part of the same universally applied policy applicable to all persons incarcerated in Palm Beach County Jail, Mr. Epstein qualified for and was granted restricted and monitored work release on the same terms as would be available to any similarly situated inmate. He received no special treatment or politically or economically motivated favoritism. In order to provide necessary balance to the outrageously exaggerated tabloid reports, we have wanted to provide detail about the prior backgrounds of some of the young women that came to Mr. Epstein's home to give him erotic massages in exchange for money, including work in prostitution, at massage parlors and as exotic EFTA_R1_00007404 EFTA01733575 dancers. We also wanted to make it known that none of the civil claims against Mr. Epstein brought by any of these women and their mercenary attorneys has ever been adjudicated. However, Mr. Epstein, who has acknowledged highly bad judgment in allowing young women to come to his house, chose not subject these women to further tabloid scrutiny. Although there was little to be done about the intensely unfavorable media focus on him, he had hoped to spare both the young women and those associated with him from the same experience, and strictly refrained from comment no matter how grossly exaggerated the narrative about him became. But neither the media nor financially motivated plaintiffs' attorneys have shared the same goal. Mr. Epstein has been repeatedly labeled a pedophile in news reports, although that revolting, despicable characterization and behavior has no link to the crimes for which he has been convicted. In truth, the one young women often described as 14 when she came to Mr. Epstein's home, specifically told police that she said she was 18 at the time, and tried to act 18, because she was specifically told by the persons who introduced her to Mr. Epstein to lie about her age and that it was understood that no one under 18 would be allowed into his home if anyone knew that person was underage. There have been allegations of forced sexual contact with Mr. Epstein's friends, although they emanate from only a single source, a woman who acknowledged to having been paid considerably for her story, and there have been no similar allegations from any other young women. Mr. Epstein has refused to publicly respond to some of these wild allegations as the commencement of a defamation suit against anyone contesting the veracity of a public statement is now a new fad that has gone viral. Mr. Epstein has paid his debt to society for his conduct more than 11 years ago, which despite false and irresponsible tabloid speculation to the contrary has not and will never reoccur. Mr. Epstein has asked forgiveness of his friends and family, and, thankfully, has graciously received it. Notwithstanding the media's efforts to impugn his motivations, Mr. Epstein has redoubled his charitable efforts and philanthropic activities in order to prove himself worthy of the often-touted distinctly American second chance. He will continue to do so in the hope that it will eventually be recognized for what it is, a sincere effort to make amends. EFTA_R1_00007405 EFTA01733576