FBI PUBLIC AFFAIRS - DIRECTOR'S AM NEWS BRIEFING

FBI PUBLIC AFFAIRS - DIRECTOR'S AM NEWS BRIEFING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019 5:00 AM EST EFTA00160965 EFTA00160966 EFTA00160967 EFTA00160968 EFTA00160969 EFTA00160970 EFTA00160971 Judge: Acosta Broke Law By Hiding Epstein Plea Deal From Underage Girls He Trafficked. The Miami Herald (2/21, Brown, 794K) reports that U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra has ruled that 'federal prosecutors — among them, US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with" Jeffrey Epstein, "a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims: Marra "said that the evidence he reviewed showed that...Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls — not only in Florida — but from overseas, in violation of federal law." The Herald says that "instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta, then the US attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution." The New York Times (2/21, Mazzei, 17.89M) says "the court's ruling on Thursday could nullify the non-prosecution agreement and subject Mr. Epstein and any co-conspirators in the case to new federal charges, said Jack Scarola, a lawyer for the two victims who challenged the agreement." NBC Nightly News (2/21, story 5, 1:20, Williams, 9.56M) reported 'The judge did not rule on whether the plea deal itself was improper and the ruling is not likely to have any effect on Epstein. The judge is asking both sides in the case to suggest what should be done as a result of the ruling." NBC added that "as for Acosta, the Labor Department said the plea deal was reviewed by the Justice Department leadership and followed the rules." Chris Cuomo said on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time (2/21, 1.44M), 'The irony. That guy is the Labor Secretary. That's what kids all over this country get conscripted into by way of trafficking. They're being made into sex workers. Epstein, by all apparent indications, was part of that trade. Now the guy is the Labor Secretary after cutting him a deal like this?" Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa said on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time (2/21, 1.44M), "He definitely got a sweetheart deal. And I want to point out something here, the President made the cornerstone of his State of the Union Address stopping trafficking, and that this was a big concern for him: which he used to justify his border wall. Former Trump White House Lawyer Jim Schultz, however, said on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time (2/21, 1.44M), 1 don't believe it's a sweetheart deal at all: He added, 'He got 18 months in prison. He had to register as a sex offender and the victims EFTA00160972 were designated as victims so they could be compensated civilly. That's not something that could have happened had Acosta and his office not stepped in." Copyright 2019 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn horn thousands of newspapers. national magazines, national and local television programs, radio broadcasts, social•media platforms and additional forms of open-source data. Sources for Buletin Intelligence audience-size estrnales include Scarborough. GfK MRI, comScore, Nielsen. aid the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Data from and access to third party social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, is subject to the respective platfords terms of use. Services that include Factiva content are governed by Fadiva's terms of use. Services including embedded Tweets are also subject to Twitter for Websites information and privacy policies. The FBI Directors Morning Briefing is published five days a week Bulletin Inteltigence, which creates custom briefings for government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at Buletinkrielligence.00m. or caled a Please direct comments and concerns t EFTA00160973