Jeffrey Epstein, a 66-year-old billionaire hedge fund manager, sexually assaulted dozens of underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion in the 2000s. His wealth allowed him to make a handsome purchase at that one-stop shopping center that sells justice to the rich – the Orwellian-named Department of Justice.
At the time the government sold Epstein his justice, in 2008, the FBI had identified three dozen girls, most between 13 to 16 years old, who gave Epstein massages that turned into sex acts. He and others had a recruitment plan, which resembled a pyramid scheme, to get children to his mansion.
Instead of being federally prosecuted on sex trafficking charges and, if convicted, sent to prison for life, Epstein was allowed to plead guilty in state court to prostitution charges. He served 13 months in the Palm Beach County jail and, while there, was given work release that allowed him to come and go from jail almost daily. He was freed in 2009.
Former Miami federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who is now President Trump’s secretary of labor, negotiated the sale to Epstein – crafting a secret non-prosecution deal in 2008.
The total cost to Epstein is unknown but I would hazard a guess that it cost him north of $10 million – a fraction of his wealth – and was distributed in various nooks and crannies, where cash placed in pockets is better than seeing an old perv in prison.
Last November, the Miami Herald published a series, “Perversion of Justice,” [It might have been titled “Sale of Justice”] that revealed how Acosta and other prosecutors worked to concoct and conceal the deal and revealed the extent of Epstein’s crimes [which was planned to be kept secret to avoid public scrutiny and prevent victims from opposing the deal.] The Herald’s investigation identified 80 women who were possible underage victims of Epstein, located around the world.
The Herald has not uncovered the actual purchase price paid for justice, and who got what, but it is evident, from their report, that Epstein’s wealth – and his wealth alone – allowed him to buy a commodity often sold at the Department of Justice – freedom.
Complicating this obvious sale of justice by the Department of Justice is a civil lawsuit that seeks to undo the plea deal in Epstein’s criminal case.
In February, after more than a decade of civil litigation over the deal, federal Judge Kenneth A. Marra ruled that the federal government, led by Acosta, violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act by giving Epstein [and an unspecified number of unidentified co-conspirators] immunity, without informing the victims about the deal. Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement was ruled unlawful.
The government has not yet voided Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement, despite the judge ruling it was engineered [i.e., sold to Epstein] illegally. U.S. Attorney Byung Pak, of the Northern District of Georgia [who was appointed by Trump] is asking Judge Marra for a 60-day delay to consult with Epstein’s victims and others. It is not immediately clear if Pak is serving the victims, or helping Epstein [and the people he rewarded] in seeking this delay.
If the plea deal is voided, it remains to be seen if Epstein will ever be prosecuted, but it would likely be helpful in an ongoing civil lawsuit against Epstein by victims.
There are perhaps some who might think this is unfair to Epstein, who paid politicians, lawyers, deep state fellows and their friends in good faith. How could he be expected to know that all sales are not final at the DOJ?
Still, he has little to complain about. Today, instead of having lifelong housing at a maximum security federal prison, Epstein lists his permanent residence as his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He also spends time at his mansions in New York and Palm Beach. He recently purchased an island he is developing in the Caribbean.
After a long day of day trading or developing his island paradise, it is not known if he still needs to unwind with a sex massage from some child that was tricked into coming to his boudoir to face this beastly creature and his filthy gaze and odious, stench-filled, cadaver-like body – like other children did hundreds of times before.
For more info – and superb work of investigative journalism – see the Miami Herald:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article221404845.html