Federal Judge Kenneth Marra ruled yesterday that the Federal prosecutorial team led by now-Labor Secretary Alex Acosta broke the law in concealing a plea agreement from 30 juvenile victims of sex trafficker and hedge fund mogul Jeffrey Epstein. The judge ordered prosecutors to confer with the victims and their attorneys within 15 days to determine whether they want to pursue a settlement. From the Miami Herald's excellent and detailed report:
"Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said prosecutors not only violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act by not informing the victims, they also misled the girls into believing that the FBI’s sex trafficking case against Epstein was still ongoing — when in fact, prosecutors had secretly closed it after sealing the plea bargain from the public record. [snip]
Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta allowed Epstein to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and he served just 13 months in the Palm Beach County jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were not charged." (our emphasis)The role of Acosta is particularly disgusting. He essentially acted as a lawyer for the defense in concealing information that would have helped the victims of Epstein. The matter has come to the attention of Congress, three dozen of whom have convinced the Justice Department to open an investigation of how Epstein's case was handled by Acosta and his team.
Epstein skated on more serious felony charges because of the influence wielded by his great wealth and his friendships with the likes of serial assaulter and pathological liar Donald "Rump" Trump, his defender Alan Dershowitz, bonnie Prince Andrew, man-who-never-learns-his-lesson Bill Clinton, and many prominent world leaders and celebrities. Can anyone doubt that Acosta's elevation to Secretary of Labor was Rump's way of thanking him for protecting a friend...and a procurer?
(photo: Acosta, left, and Epstein)
