Lawmakers demand probe of Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta’s role in Jeffrey Epstein non‑prosecution deal

2 The Virgin Islands Daily News ~ [REDACTED], 30, was a victim of serial sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein beginning at the age of 14. Epstein paid Wild, and many other underage girls, to give him massages, often having them undress and perform sexual acts. Epstein also used the girls as recruiters, paying them to bring him other underage girls. Epstein, 65, a hedge fund manager, splits his time between the Virgin Islands and Palm Beach, Fla. VIRGIN ISLANDS Saturday, December 8, 2018 6 by MIAMI HERALD Jena-Lisa Jones, with her 18-month-old son, Raymond, says she was 14 when she was intro- duced to Jeffrey Epstein and was paid $200 by him to give him a massage at his home. Jones says Epstein told her to take off all of her clothes and that he fondled her during the massage. Lawmakers issue call for investigation of Epstein deal By JULIE K. BROWN, ALEX DAUGHERTY and CAITLIN OSTROFF Miami Herald MIAMI More than two dozen lawmakers are demanding an inves- ligation into possible misconduct by US. Secretary of Labor Alexan- der Acosta, who, as a former federal prosecutor in Miami, helped broker a secret plea deal for a multimillionaire accused of running an underage sex trafficking network. The lawmakers, mostly Democrats, have sent several letters to Michael E. Horowitz, inspector general for the Department of Justice, calling for a probe into Acosta’ role in the 2008 plea deal for Little St. James resident Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, 65, a hedge fund manager who splits his time between the Virgin Islands and Palm Beach, Fla., faced a possible life sentence for molest- ing dozens of girls, but was instead granted federal immunity as part of a non-prosecution agreement approved by Acosta when he was U.S. Attorney forthe Southern Distnet of Florida. Thus far, 34 senators and members of the House have called for a probe of the Epstein case, including two Re- publicans, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen, chairman of the Senate Ju- ommittee’s subcommittee for oversight The requests come one week after the Miami Herald published an i vestigation, “Perversion of Justic that revealed hea federal prosecutors worked with Epsteins high-profile lawyers to craft a deal that would keep him out of prison. Instead he would serve a bnef jail stint. Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from Epstein’ underage vic- tims unul after Epstein was sentenced, thereby making it impossible for them to appear in court and possibly derail the agreement. The Herald identified nearly 80 possible victims, most of them 13 to 16 years old. Several of them, now in thei late 20s and early 30s, told the Herald that they felt betrayed by Acos- ta and other prosecutors who failed to treat them as victims and labeled them as prostitutes — even though they were under the age of consent. Acosta, 49, was confirmed as Presi- dent Donald Trump's labor secretary in April 2017. During his hearings, Sens. Tim Kaine and Patty Murray questioned Acosta about Epstein’s deal but Acosta never explained why he agreed to have it sealed. He was approved by the Senate, 60-38, with eight Democrats and one independent voting in favor of his appointment. “At the end of the day, based on the evidence, professionals within a pros- ecutor's office decided that a plea that guarantees someone goes to jail, that guarantees he register (as a sex of- fender) generally and guarantees other outcomes, is a good thing,” Acosta said during his hearings. f , Acosta over- ssive federal agency that pro- sight of the country’s labor , including human trafficking. He had been on a list of possible successors to former Attorney Gen- The Miami Herald identified nearly 80 possible victims, most of them 13 to 16 years old. Several of them, now in their late 20s and early 30s, told the Herald that they felt betrayed by former federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta — who now works for the Trump administration — and other prosecutors who failed to treat them as victims and labeled them as prostitutes — even though they were under the age of consent. eral Jeff Sessions, but was said to have been eliminated from consideration after the Herald published its series online last week. On Thursday, a group of senators, led by Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that oversees the Department of Labor, wrote a letter to Horowitz, questioning whether Ep- stein used his connections to not only secure a lenient sentence, but to obtain immunity for other people who were involved or knew about his sexual ex- ploitation of minors. “Our justice system is predicated on the fundamental value that no in- dividual is above the law, and to that end, it is essential that plea agreements involving well-connected individuals not only follow the law and standard practice, but also stand up to scm- tiny,” said the letter, signed by 15 other members of the Senate, Rubio on Thursday also called upon the Justice Department to explain how such a deal could have happened. “There should be a little bit more clanty as to why that case was re: solved the way it was resolved," Rubio said “Because for most people that read it, it doesn’t make sense.” From 2001 to 2006, Epstein as- sembled a large cultlike network of underage girls — most of them from disadvantaged backgrounds —to give him massages. He then coerced them into sex acts and paid them to recruit other girls to bring to his Palm Beach mansion, three to four times a day, ac cording to police. The Herald's examination of thou- sands of court records, emails and FBI records also showed that after the deal was struck, it effectively shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether Ep- stein was trafficking girls and young women from around the country and from overseas for sex parties attended by other powerful people at his man- sions in New York, New Mexico and on his private island in the Caribbean, Federal prosecutors had prepared a §3-page indictment against Epstem for federal sex crimes involving minors, which would have sent him to prison for decades. The indictment, however, was shelved, and Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two minor prostitu- HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022463 tion charges in state court. He spent just 13 months inthe Palm Beach County jail, where he was giv- en permission to leave most of the day under a liberal work release program that wasn't granted to other convicted sex offenders. He was released in 2009. Sasse, in his letter, said he was dis- turbed that federal prosecutors would have given Epstein such a break. “The fact that this monster received such a pathetically soft sentence is a travesty that should outrage us all,” Sasse wrote in a letter to DOJ's inspec- tor general. Experts say its possible that several investigations could be launched, not just by the Department of Justice. The Deparment of Labor’ nspee- tor general could also do a review, said Philip Lacovara, who served as coun- s¢l to the special prosecutor who in- vestigated President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. Neither agency is required to say if and when it is conducting a review, he said, so its possible investigations could already be underway: But the re- sults may or may not be made public. “They may do 10 confidential in- vestigations, but you may only know about one,” Lacovara said, Francey Hakes, a former federal prosecutor, said that such an investiga- tion could result in policy changes and new regulations on how federal pros- ecutors handle victim notification and non-prosecution agreements, “T just don’t know of any retrospec- tive way to fix things,” Hakes said. “I hope they will get to the bottom of whatever happened.”