45's Sec of Labor in Hot Water!
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 6:37 am
Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficked underage girls and President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor illegally helped to cover it up, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
In a 33-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra of Palm Beach County describes how evidence shows Epstein—a multimillionaire hedge fund manager known for his friendships with influential political figures, including former president Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew—paid employees to “obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others.”
In a series of explosive stories, the Miami Herald documented how, in 2017, federal prosecutors worked with Epstein’s lawyers to put together a plea deal, requiring the financier to plead guilty to two prostitution charges and serve 13 months in jail, despite overwhelming evidence of a widespread pattern of sex trafficking and sexual assault, including 103 “Jane Doe” victims. The deal ensured Epstein—and his unidentified co-conspirators—immunity from federal prosecution.
Then-federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, now the U.S. secretary of labor (responsible for oversight of international human trafficking and child labor violations), agreed to seal the deal, withholding it from Epstein’s victims, many between 13 and 16 years old when they were abused, until it was too late for them to object in court.
Acosta played a major role in the deal that would immunize Epstein and his accomplices from federal prosecution and largely allowed Epstein’s lawyers to define the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, according to the Herald. The sealed agreement could potentially name other influential people from Epstein’s expansive network of elite friends.
Acosta and representatives from the Department of Labor did not immediately immediately respond to a request for comment from Newsweek.
“I don’t think anyone has been told the truth about what Jeffrey Epstein did,’’ Michelle Licata, who was 16 when Epstein sexually assaulted her, told the Herald. “He ruined my life and a lot of girls’ lives. People need to know what he did and why he wasn’t prosecuted so it never happens again.”
In response, two of Epstein’s victims filed suit in Florida, claiming prosecutors violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which grants victims the right to review possible plea deals with prosecutors. On Thursday, Judge Marra agreed, arguing that prosecutors broke the law by hiding the agreement from Epstein’s victims.
“Particularly problematic was the Government’s decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility,’’ the judge wrote. “When the Government gives information to victims, it cannot be misleading. While the Government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the [agreement] with Epstein’s attorneys, scant information was shared with victims.’’
https://www.newsweek.com/jeffrey-epstei ... or-1339974
In a 33-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra of Palm Beach County describes how evidence shows Epstein—a multimillionaire hedge fund manager known for his friendships with influential political figures, including former president Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew—paid employees to “obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others.”
In a series of explosive stories, the Miami Herald documented how, in 2017, federal prosecutors worked with Epstein’s lawyers to put together a plea deal, requiring the financier to plead guilty to two prostitution charges and serve 13 months in jail, despite overwhelming evidence of a widespread pattern of sex trafficking and sexual assault, including 103 “Jane Doe” victims. The deal ensured Epstein—and his unidentified co-conspirators—immunity from federal prosecution.
Then-federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, now the U.S. secretary of labor (responsible for oversight of international human trafficking and child labor violations), agreed to seal the deal, withholding it from Epstein’s victims, many between 13 and 16 years old when they were abused, until it was too late for them to object in court.
Acosta played a major role in the deal that would immunize Epstein and his accomplices from federal prosecution and largely allowed Epstein’s lawyers to define the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, according to the Herald. The sealed agreement could potentially name other influential people from Epstein’s expansive network of elite friends.
Acosta and representatives from the Department of Labor did not immediately immediately respond to a request for comment from Newsweek.
“I don’t think anyone has been told the truth about what Jeffrey Epstein did,’’ Michelle Licata, who was 16 when Epstein sexually assaulted her, told the Herald. “He ruined my life and a lot of girls’ lives. People need to know what he did and why he wasn’t prosecuted so it never happens again.”
In response, two of Epstein’s victims filed suit in Florida, claiming prosecutors violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which grants victims the right to review possible plea deals with prosecutors. On Thursday, Judge Marra agreed, arguing that prosecutors broke the law by hiding the agreement from Epstein’s victims.
“Particularly problematic was the Government’s decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility,’’ the judge wrote. “When the Government gives information to victims, it cannot be misleading. While the Government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the [agreement] with Epstein’s attorneys, scant information was shared with victims.’’
https://www.newsweek.com/jeffrey-epstei ... or-1339974