Former top Epstein prosecutor defends Alexander Acosta amid calls for probe of 2008 plea deal

Saturday, February 16, 2019 VIRGIN ISLANDS The Virgin Islands Daily News 7 Top aide of Epstein prosecutor in sex case defends former boss By JULIE K. BROWN Miami Herald MIAMI — A former top prosecutor involved in the Jeffrey Epstein sex case is defending his old boss, Alexander Acosta, whose decision to craft a secret plea deal with the wealthy New York hedge fund manager has come under federal scrutiny. Epstein, who also has homes in Palm Beach, Fla., and New York, lives on Little St. James Island off St. Thomas. In his first public comments on the 10-year-old case, Jeffrey H. Sloman who at the time was second in com- mand under Acosta at the U.S. Attor- ney’s Office in Miami — said prosecu- tors resolved the case based on the facts and evidence, and what he called “legal impediments,” including the belief that many of Epstein’s teenage victims were too “terrified” to cooperate in the case. “Given the obstacles we faced in fashioning a robust federal prosecution, we decided to negotiate a resolution,” said Sloman, now in private practice. “We did not reach this decision lightly and it came only after significant and often rancorous internal debate.” In a lengthy opinion piece sub- mitted to the Mi- ami Herald Edito- rial Board, Sloman alleges that scruti- ny of Acosta’s role in the controversial case is being fu- eled by politically motivated — critics who failed to raise significant issues with it when Acos- ta was nominated and confirmed as the U.S. secretary of labor in 2017. Sloman’ com- ments come two weeks after the Alexander Justice — Depart- Acosta ment announced it had opened an investigation into whether there was prosecutorial misconduct in the case in- volving Epstein, who ran a sex pyramid scheme from his Palm Beach estate that targeted scores of underage girls from 2001 to 2006. Jeffrey H. Sloman — who at the time was second in command under Alexander Acosta at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami — said prosecutors resolved the case based on the facts and evidence, and what he called “legal impediments,” including the belief that many of Jeffrey Epstein’s teenage victims were too “terrified” to cooperate in the case. About 30 members of Congress de- manded the probe following a Miami Herald series of stories, “Perversion of Justice,” that detailed how federal pros- ecutors, led by Acosta, stitched together an unusual immunity deal that allowed Epstein to escape what could have been a life sentence in federal prison. Instead, Epstein whose friends included President Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and other politically connected people — was allowed to quietly plead guilty to prostitution charges in state court. He served 13 months in the county jail, where he was allowed lib- eral work release privileges rarely given to sex offenders in Florida and barred by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Depart- ment’s own rules. He was released in 2009, but his vic- tims — who were 13 to 16 years old at the time — are still fighting more than a decade later to have his non-prosecu- tion agreement overtumed. In his op-ed, Sloman called Acosta “an outstanding public servant ... at risk of becoming collateral damage in Washington's latest polarized confla- gration,” adding, “I won't let it happen without first being heard.” “As additional details about Epstein’s crimes have emerged, it is clear to me that we should have pushed for much harsher terms,” Sloman wrote. “That said, some have mistakenly suggested that our office kowtowed to Epstein'’s high-priced defense lawyers or, worse, that his lawyers corrupted or intimidat- ed us into submission ... nothing could be further from the truth.” Sloman did not directly address the chief complaint brought by Epstein’s victims, who are now in their late 20s and carly 30s. Those who spoke to the Herald said they felt betrayed by federal prosecutors, who sealed the non-pros- ecution agreement from public view so that they wouldn't find out about it before he was sentenced. It would be almost a year before they were success- ful in having it unsealed. By then, it was too late to try to derail it. They allege, ina federal lawsuit filed against the govemment, that prosecu- tors deliberately kept the deal secret in violation of federal law — to pre- vent them from appearing at Epstein'’s sentencing to possibly undo the deal. Nor did Sloman address why prosecu- tors also gave immunity to a number of Epstein’s co-conspirators, who have never been identified. See EPSTEIN, page 8 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023125