Alleged Non‑Prosecution Deal Between U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta and Jeffrey Epstein Shielded Powerful Figures

14 The Virgin Islands Daily News TERN' ERSION OF JUSTICE Wednesday, February 27, 2019 How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime By JULIE K. 610 WN MIAMI — On a muggy October morning in 2007, Miami, top federal prosecutor. Alexan- der Acosta, had a breakfast a,intmeri with a former colleague, Washington, D.C., attorney Jay Lethowitz. It was an unusual meeting for the then-38- year-okl prosecutox a rising Republican star who had grwd in somml White House posts before being named U.S. attorney in Miami by President George W. Bush. Instead of meeting at the pros.utor's Mithni headquarters, the two mai — both with profes- sional roots in the prestigious Washington law finn of Kirldand . Ellis — convened at the Marrien in WeSt Palm Beach, about 70 miles away. For Lethowia, a U.S. special envoy to North Korea and corporate lawyer, the meeting was critical. His clic, Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. 54, wis accused of assembling a lazie. cuhlthe nenvork of underage gids — with the help of young female r.nriters — to coerce into having sac acts behind the walls of his opulert waterfiont massion as often as three times a day, the Town of Palm Beach police found. The eccentric hedge find manager, whose hien. included former Presi.nt Bill Clinton, Donald Trumpaaidprince.Andr, was al, m =, trs all ipca%negs na iTsr = Manhattan, New Mexico and the Virgin law.. FBI and court merards show. Facing a 53-page federal indictment. Epgein could have ended up in federal prison for the leg of his life. But on the morning oft. breakthst ing, a deal was struuck eicti;:ealid=lea Ogesnst=,thaertine' ntrtheeraiumber of people imnIved. Not only would Epgein sent just 13 months in dse county jail, but the deal — .11. a non- prosecut ion agreement — ...ally shut down an aligning FI31 probe into cs.ther t.re were more victims and other powerful pegic win took part in Epstein's sex crimes, accordng to a Miami Henid examination of thousands of emails, court documeris and FBI records. The pact required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitudon charges in stale court. Niacin and four of he accomplices named in the agreement re.. immunity from all faleral criminal charges. But even more unusual. the deal included waning .t granted immunity to "any potential co-coisspinicas" w. were also imals. in Epstein, CrirneS. These ac.mplices or participants were not idol.. in thc agreement, leaving it open to interpretation 101061 11 possibly referred to other influential people who were having sex with underage girls at Epgein, serious homes or on his plane. As part of . arrangement, Acosta agreed despite a fe.ral law to t. contrary, that deal would . Imp! from the viethns. As a r.ult. t. rt=invmednb=ge=9ed01ue7tiirer Fa ix,. by a8ACa PRE. njaSgOl'::irag?EaRI-rnbenrt ttantleart httet l'avriat'y Otielltr:01 rr'Itigrittriretf'r44"Eliaahteelined, a sexual abuser of girls. 9 Jeffrey preyed 00 91116 who were in a bad way, girls who were basically homeless. He went 01101 9146 who he thought no one would listen to and he was right. any chance that &girls —or anyone else — mit L:lirtivietinryccorhotdar.,d`,a2;., by unlimited fun. and represented by a poswthouse legal team. was able to manipulate the crninal justice system. and how his accusers. trau- matized by their pasts. belkve they were betrayed by 1111 1610 prosecutors who pledged to rrotect them. doWt thi. anyone has been told the Utah ;bp's tliC olal es,Y= teas:, 0011 01101 190 ruined fife and a lot of girls' lives. People 11011 11 know w.t he did and why he wasn't Pr'Nocevt.ele'rde:ITI7ornat=sne;rctaly o f labor, Acosta, 49, overse. a niassivc federal 0 a06 oniTvhs7iM1 dde0 660109911 of 00 161611110 Acosta aid not refpond to numerous requests — COurtneyWild who was 14 when she rnet Epstein '97 t rail': :MI gr: eg r tiations and the role that Acosta would play in arranging the deal, which scuakd the federal probe into a possible international sex trafficking operation. Among other dings Acorta Epstein, lawyers unusual frecdonts in diemting the temss of the non-prosecution agreement 'T. damage that happened in this case is un- conscionable,- said Bmdlcy Edwards, a formcr gate prosecutor who represents sane of Epstein, victims "How in the world, do you, . U.S. attorney, engage in a negotiation with a criminal .fendant, basically allowing that criminal defendant to write up the agreement?' Ettls As a resuh, neither the victims— nor even the jatIltedTy wse°11111=sh*e wd befinVi20E1 0011 2005, %%hen underage sa activities were first uncovered by police. Police referred the case to ho Ih0tftV; ines.Viaglea rt nnhe" thb7arn= the Palm Beach State Attorney, Office. Not 'he said, she said' ACTZ=rc: tis"' 50-something 'shes' and one 'he. — and the 'shes' all basically told the same gory, said retired Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, win SupaviSed It=ban a d.thle later, at a time when Olympic gymnasts and Hollywood actress. have become a catalyst for a cultural reckoning about sexual abuse, Epstein, victims have all but been forgo.. T. women — now in t.ir late 20s and early 30s — are still fighting for an el us. justice that ewn the passage of time has not made right. Lila ether victims of sexual abusc, they be- lieve they've been silenced by a criminal _Make system that stubbornly fails to hold Epstein and ot.r me,althy and powerful mcn "Jeffrey preyed on girls who were in a bad way, gids who were tnsically homel.s. He went atler girls who he thought no me would listen to and he vms right,' said Counney Wild w. was 14 w.n she met Epstein. Oser the pag year, the Miani Herald oc- amined a d.ade, worth °foam documents, lawsuits, witness depositions and newly released FBI documents. Key people inwlved in . investigation — most of whom haw never ,oken before — weir also interview. The Herald also obtained new records, inducing the full unredacted copy oft. Palm Beach pike inv.tigation and witness stitcmcnts that had been kept un.r The Herald learned that, as , of t. plea deal, Epstein prosided what the government calkd "valuable consideration" for unspecified information he supplied to federal investigators. Whik the documents obtained by the Herald don't detail what the infonnation was. Epstein, te:Cserigh:g=o7lathp:e=g in the 2008 global fmancial crisis. Reco. shay that Epstein was a key fed- eralwimeas in the criminal_prose,tsion,of two rl Tnnutc.e171 enttirrnc kvierVe 7tirstSftlreld' )200 t1, who were accused of corporate securiti. fraud. Epstein was one of the largest investors in the hedge fiind managed by the executives, who ,scre later acquitted. It is not known what role, if, the case played in Epacin, plea negotiaticns. lbc Herald also identified about 80 women %al lyTurby"aestnc in from 200 to 2096. About nksted or otherwise sem. Michael Reiter See PERVERSION, page 16 14 The Virgin Islands Daily News PERVERSION OF JUSTICE How a future Trump Cabinet member Wednesday, February 27 2019 gave a Serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime By JULIE K. BROWN Miami Herald MIAMI — On a muggy October morning in 2007, Miami's top federal prosecutor, Alexan- der Acosta, had a breakfast appointment with a former colleague, Washington, D.C., attorney Jay Letkowitz, It was an unusual mecting for the then-38- year-old prosecutor, a rising Republican star who had served in several White House posts before being named U.S, attomey in Miami by President George W. Bush. Instead of meeting at the prosecutor's Miami headquarters, the two men — both with profes- sional roots in the prestigious Washington law finn of Kirkland & Ellis — convened at the Marriott in West Palm Beach, about 70 miles away. For Lefkowitz, 44, a U.S, special envoy to North Korea and corporate lawyer, the meeting was critical. His client, Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, 54, was accused of assembling a large, cultlike network of underage girls — with the help of young female recnuiters —to coerce into having sex acts behind the walls of his opulent waterfront mansion as often as three times a day, the Town of Palm Beach police found. The cecentric hedge fund manager, whose friends included former President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, was also suspected of trafficking minor girls, often from overseas, for sex parties at his other homes in Manhattan, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands, FBI and court records show. Facing a 53-page federal indictment, Epstein could have ended up in federal prison for the rest of his life, But on the morning of the breakfast meet- ing, a deal was struck — an extraordinary plea agreement that would conceal the full extent of Epstein’ crimes and the number of people involved. Not only would Epstein serve just 13 months in the county jail, but the deal — called a non- prosecution agreement — essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein's sex crimes, according to a Miami Herald examination of thousands of emails, court documents and FBI records. The pact required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in state court. Epstein and four of his accomplices named in the agreement received immunity from all federal criminal charges. But even more unusual, the deal included wording that granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators” who were also involved in Epstein’s crimes, These accomplices or participants were not identified inthe agreement, leaving it open to interpretation whether it possibly referred to other influential people who were having sex with underage girls at Epstein’s various homes or on his plane. As partof the arrangement, Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims, As a result, the non-prosecution agreement was sealed until after it was approved by the judge, thereby averting File photo by ABACA PRESS U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, when he was a federal prosecutor in Miami, helped negotiate an agreement that greatly reduced the severity of the conviction of Jeffrey Epstein, a sexual abuser of girls. any chance that the girls — or anyone else — might show up in court and try to derail it. This is the story of how Epstein, bolstered by unlimited funds and represented by a powerhouse legal team, was able to manipulate the criminal justice system, and how his accusers, still trau- matized by their pasts, believe they were betrayed by the very prosecutors who pledged to protect them. “1 don’t think anyone has been told the truth about what Jeffrey Epstein did,” said one of Epstein’s victims, Michelle Licata, now 30. “He ruined my life and a lot of girls’ lives. People need to know what he did and why he wasn't prosecuted so it never happens again.” Now President Donald Trump's secretary of labor, Acosta, 49, oversees a massive federal agency that provides oversight of the country’s labor laws, including human trafficking. Acosta didnot respond to numerous requests 66 Jeffrey preyed on girls who were in a bad way, girls who were basically homeless. He went after girls who he thought no one would listen to and he was right. — Courtney Wild, who was 14 when she met Epstein for an interview or answer queries through email. But court records reveal details of the nego- tations and the role that Acosta would play in arranging the deal, which scuttled the federal probe into a possible international sex trafficking operation. Among other things, Acosta allowed Epstein’s lawyers unusual freedoms in dictating the terms of the non-prosecution agreement. “The damage that happened in this case is un- conscionable,” said Bradley Edwards, a former state prosecutor who represents some of Epstein’s victims, “How in the world, do you, the U.S. attorney, engage in anegotiation with a cnminal defendant, basically allowing that criminal defendant to write up the agreement?” Bradley Edwards Asa result, neither the victims — nor even the judge — would know how many girls Epstein allegedly sexually abused between 2001 and 2005, when his underage sex activities were first uncovered by police. Police referred the case to the FBI a year later, when they began to suspect that their investigation was being undermined by the Palm Beach State Attomey’s Office. Not ‘he said, she said’ “This was not a *he said, she said’ situation. This was $0-something ‘shes’ and one ‘he’ — and the ‘shes’ all basically told the same story,” said retired Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, who supervised the police probe. More than a decade later, at atime when Olympic gymnasts and Hollywood actresses have become a catalyst fora cultural reckoning about sexual abuse, Epstein’s victims have all but been forgotten, The women — now in their late 20s and early 30s — are still fighting for an elusive justice that even the passage of time has not made right. Like other victims of sexual abuse, they be- lieve they've been silenced by a cnminal justice system that stubbomly fails to hold Epstein and other wealthy and powerful men accountable. “Jefirey preyed on girls who were in a bad way, girls who were basically homeless. He went after girls who he thought no one would listen to and he was right,” said Courtney Wild, who was 14 when she met Epstein. Over the past year, the Miami Herald ex- amined a decade's worth of court documents, lawsuits, witness depositions and newly released FBI documents. Key people involved in the investigation — most of whom have never spoken before — were also interviewed. The Herald also obtained new records, including the full unredacted copy of the Palm Beach police investigation and witness statements that had been kept under seal, The Herald leamed that, as part of the plea deal, Epstein provided what the government called “valuable consideration” for unspecified information he supplied to federal investigators, While the documents obtained by the Herald don't detail what the information was, Epstein’s sex. crime case happened just as the country’s subprime mortgage market collapsed, ushering in the 2008 global financial crisis. Records show that Epstein was a key fed- eral witness in the criminal prosecution of two prominent executives with Bear Stearns, the global investment brokerage that failed in 2008, who were accused of corporate secunties fraud. Epstein was one of the langest investors in the hedge fund managed by the executives, who were later acquitted. It is not known what role, if any, the case played in Epstem’s plea negotiations. The Herald also identified about 80 women who say they were molested or otherwise sexu- ally abused by Epstein from 2001 to 2006. About Michael Reiter See PERVERSION, page 16 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023047