Judge: Prosecutors violated law in dealings with Jeffrey Epstein victims

[leftynyc]

Source: Politico

A judge ruled on Thursday that federal prosecutors broke the law by failing to keep victims adequately informed about a plea deal that Jeffrey Epstein, a prominent financier, cut to avoid federal prosecution for sexual encounters with numerous underage girls.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta was the U.S. attorney for Southern Florida at the time the agreement was negotiated more than a decade ago. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog for attorney misconduct announced earlier this month that it had opened an investigation into the government’s conduct in the case.



Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/21/prosecutors-violated-law-jeffrey-epstein-1179120

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Yes, that's right - the current Labor Secretary was the piece of crap prosecutor who made this disgusting deal with that vermin.

[montanacowboy]

1. Time for some pedophiles to go to jail

Alan D. and the Dump

[NCDawg]

2. Well, well,.....

Perhaps with all the groundswell beginning next week, we might see certain sleazy, well-known and well protected "clients" revealed?!?!?! Someone queue Faux Noise for the token Dershowitz cameo.....

[RockRaven]

3. Acosta MUST be impeached, not only to remove him from the Cabinet, but to bar future federal office.

Put GOP Senators on the spot to convict, remove, and bar him, or not.

[George II]

4. With that, where do we go now? Is "double jeopardy" involved in this case, or can it be....

....retried?

[leftynyc]

6. Good question

We need DU attorneys to chime in here.

[leftynyc]

13. Called my lawyer sister

She's not a criminal lawyer but her feeling is that since he was never prosecuted, he may very well be charged now. He pleaded guilty to some bullshit changes as part of a nonProsecution agreement but the judge today said the prosecutors acted illegally. She didn't ever remember a case like this so she really didn't know.

[George II]

14. That's a good point. I never really got into this way back, didn't realize he wasn't tried.

[leftynyc]

15. Things got very interesting

today. I guess we'll see lawyers on tv battling this out. Those women/girls need some justice.

[Arazi]

10. If a different woman/women come forward with new charges, Epstein will face a new trial

But from my understanding, he can't be tried again with the women from this case.

There is no statute of limitations on sex trafficking etc. So Epstein can be re-tried with new accusers.

[csziggy]

12. Not sure - the lawsuit which brought this about tried to nullify the agreement

From the article linked in the OP:

Marra’s decision came in a lawsuit that some of Epstein’s victims filed in 2008 seeking to have the nonprosecution deal nullified because of the treatment of the victims. In the ruling Thursday, the judge left open the question of what remedy should be imposed for the prosecutors’ legal violation in their handling of the deal.

I am not an attorney but it seems to me that if the agreement was reached illegally and is nullified, Epstein could be retried.

[asiliveandbreathe]

5. What is galling - they had all the evidence to put this epstein pos in jail for years...it is the

now Labor Sec, along with Epstein and others to face the music..I hope Acosta goes to jail...misuse of position, and disbarred...looks like this admin. just filled the swamp with creatures from the lagoon..parasites...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. This deal & secrecy was way to hide famous names (Trump?) from public connection to case. . . . nt

[asiliveandbreathe]

11. I have always been of the mind that the TRUTH will out....big names, little names..

I really think someone knows all of it...this ruling today is a big deal...so now the judge wants to know how defense wants to proceed..15 days....??

The victims will have their day in court....there isn't enough popcorn to go around.....

[hughee99]

18. This happened in 2008. Trump wasn't a big enough name at the time

To get a federal prosecutor to break the law for him. If they were looking to hide famous names (and I’m not sure if this actually was the motivation), it would have to be someone with a lot more power and political connections.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Sure, but tRump was big enough to slosh money around. Further, bribing Costa

Bribing Costa with a cabinet post is a way to keep him quiet about those arrangements and use his influence in the continuing process of hiding the details.

Understandably, tRump might not have bought him in 2008, but still had a deep interest in seeing this screwed down tight, then and now.

Elevated from a simple US attorney and dean of an obscure "international law" school to be in charge of Labor? Nonsense.

More tRump cabinet corruption. Do not let this be normalized.

[Leghorn21]

7. YES!!!!

I was just thinking about this case last night, this is FANTASTIC news!!!

YES

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Secrecy always has a purpose

Suppression of charges and keeping evidence under wraps. Acosta did a deed for tRump and got a cabinet post. Elevated from a simple US attorney and dean of an obscure "international law" school to be in charge of Labor? Nonsense.

More tRump cabinet corruption. Do not let this be normalized.

[UpInArms]

16. Alexander Acosta, Trump's Labor Secretary, Broke the Law in Jeffrey Epstein Case: Judge

Federal prosecutors in Florida—including President Trump’s current Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta—broke the law when they signed a secret plea agreement with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a Palm Beach judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra ruled that the decision to keep more than 30 of Epstein’s accusers in the dark about the non-prosecution deal that allowed Epstein, a prominent financier with political connections, to avoid federal prosecution was unconstitutional.

... snip ...

Those lawyers, including Sexgate prosecutor Ken Starr and celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz, created the secret 2008 plea deal with Acosta, who was then Miami’s top federal prosecutor, and other attorneys unbeknownst to the billionaire’s alleged victims, the Herald investigation found.

“Particularly problematic was the Government’s decision to conceal the existence of the NPA and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility,” the judge wrote on Thursday about the secret plan that effectively buried dozens of sexual-abuse claims.

Epstein, instead of facing life in prison for sex trafficking, only pleaded guilty to two minor charges of solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution. He ultimately served 13 months of an 18-month prison sentence.

... more at

https://www.thedailybeast.com/alexander-acosta-trumps-labor-secretary-broke-the-law-in-jeffrey-epstein-case-judge

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[mackdaddy]

17. How could they give immunity to some unknown number of un-named people who Epstein had invited to -

also abuse the underage girls Epstein had recruited? How can other perpetrators get secret immunity?

I guess the rich and powerful really are different from us commoners...