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Mega Edition: The OIG Report Detailing The Investigation Into Epstein's NPA (Part 20-23) (7/2/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
0:04
In this episode, we're going to get a right back
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to the OIG report on the Jeffrey Epstein NPA, Part
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eight Post NPA negotiations. Almost immediately after the NPA was signed,
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conflicts arose about its terms, and the difficult negotiation process
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began anew The USAO quickly realized that there were numerous
0:25
issues concerning the monetary Damage's provision that were not resolved
0:29
in the NPA, and the parties differed in their interpretations
0:32
of the Section two twenty five fifty five provision, in
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particular the role and duties of the attorney representatives for
0:40
the victims. As negotiations regarding the damage's provision continued, the
0:44
defense was able to delay having Epstein enter his guilty
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plea in state court a September through October two thousand
0:52
and seven. Sloman's concerns about selection of an attorney representative
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lead to a proposed NPA adendum. The first controversy centered
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on the appointment of an attorney representative for the victims. Initially,
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Villa Fauna reached out to private attorney, who was one
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of several suggested tour for that role. Villa Fauna notified
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left Kowitz that she was recommending the attorney to serve
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as the victim's representative and suggested a phone conference to
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discuss that information the USAO could disclose to the attorney
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about the case. Villa Fauna told Lefkowitz that she had
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never met the attorney, but he had been recommended by
1:30
a good friend in our appellate section and by one
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of the district judges in Miami. Over the next few days,
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Villa Fauna exchanged messages with the attorney about the possibility
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of his serving as the attorney representative. She also exchanged
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emails with left Kowitz, passing along procedural questions raised by
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the attorney. By the time Laurie had fully transitioned to
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his detail at the department's Criminal Division, Sloman, who had
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been on vacation during the week the NPA was finalized
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to return to the office, reviewed the final agreement and
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immediately expressed his disapproval of the provision authorizing the USAO
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to select an attorney representative for the victims, which he
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believed might raise the appearance of a conflict of interest. Instead,
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he proposed that a special master make the selection. Although
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evidently frustrated by Slowman's belated proposal, Vilafauna conveyed to left
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Kowitz the suggestion that a special Master be appointed to
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select the attorney representative rather than having the USAO make
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the selection. She provided left Kowitz a proposal regarding the
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Special Master's responsibilities, along with a draft letter to send
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to the Special Master explaining the procedure for selecting an
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attorney representative. Lefkowitz objected to this proposal in a letter
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to Villafauna, pointing out that the NPA did not provide
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for the appointment of a special Master. More importantly, Lefkowitz
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used a discussion of the special Master as an opening
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depress for other alterations to the language of the NPA,
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or at least to its interpretation. Focusing on the attorney representative,
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Lefkowitz argued that the attorney's role should be viewed as
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limited to negotiating settlements, and that the attorney was precluded
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from filing lawsuits on behalf of the victims who could
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not reach a negotiated settlement with Epstein. Lefkowitz proposed the
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selected attorney should evaluate the claims of each identified individual,
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negotiate a total fund amount with mister Epstein, then distribute
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the monies based on the strength of each case. For
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those identified individuals who elect not to settle with mister Epstein,
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they may proceed on their own, but by doing so,
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they would not be suing under Section twenty two fifty
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five as contemplated by the NPA, and therefore may not
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continue to be represented by the selected attorney. Lefkowitz also
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objected to Villafauna's draft letter to the Special Master, asserting
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that it was essential for the Defense to participate in
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crafting a mutually acceptable communication to the victims. Going further,
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Lefkowitz claimed that any contact between the US and the
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victims about the Section twenty two to fifty five provision
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would violate the Agreements Confidentiality provision. Lefkowitz admonish the government
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not to contact the victims to inform them of the
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resolution of the case, including the appointment of the selected
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attorney and the settlement process. Villafana forwarded lefkowitz letter to Sloman,
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complaining that the Defense interpretation of Section twenty two to
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fifty five procedure violated the clear language of the NPA,
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and asking can I please just indict them. Days later,
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Sanchez emailed Slowman and then sent the follow up letter,
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asking that Slowman helped resolve the issue regarding the attorney
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representative's role and arguing that Epstein never had intended by
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signing the NPA to promise to pay fees for the
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victim's civil lawsuits in the event a settlement cannot be reached.
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When Villa Fauna explained to Slowman her views on Sanchez's arguments,
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Sloman responded, I suggest that you communicate your proposal back
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to Sanchez. The more voices as they hear, the more
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wedges they try to drive between us. Villafana agreed, noting
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that there are so many of them over there, I'm
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afraid we are getting triple teamed. Villafana sent Sanchez a
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letter regarding the roles of the Special Master and Attorney Representative.
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The next day, October tenth, two thousand and seven, Lefkowitz
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sent a six page letter to Acosta as a follow
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up to our conversation yesterday, expressing serious disagreements with Villafana's
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view of the process for victims to claim Section twenty
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two to fifty five damages under the NPA. Lefkowitz reiterated
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the defense position that the attorney representative's role was meant
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to be limited to negotiating settlements for the victims rather
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than pursuing litigation. Lefkowitz claim that a requirement that Epstein
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pay the victims legal fees incurred from contested litigation would
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trigger profound ethical problems in that the attorney representative would
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have an incentive to reject settlement offers in order to
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incur more fees. In addition, Lefkowitz rejected Villafanna's view that
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Epstein had waived the right to challenge section twenty two
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to fifty five liability as to the victims who did
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not want to settle their claims, and contended that any
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such victim will have to prove, among other things, that
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they are victims under the enumerated statutes. Finally, Lefkowitz again
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argued that the USAO should not discuss the settlement process
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with the victims who were to be identified as eligible
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for settlement under twenty two fifty five. Miss Villafana proposes
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that either she or federal agents will speak with the
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victims regarding the settlement process. We do not think it
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is the government's place to be co counseled to the victims,
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nor should the FBI be their personal investigators. Neither federal
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agents nor anyone from your office should contact the victims
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to inform them of the resolution of the case, including
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appointment of the attorney representative and the settlement process. Not
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only would that violate the confidentiality of the agreement, but
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mister Epstein will also have no control over what is
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communicated to the victims at this most critical stage. We
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believe it is essential that we participate in crafting mutually
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acceptable communication to the victims. We further believe that communication
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between your office or your case agents and the victims
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might well violate Rule b E two B of the
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Federal Rule. As a criminal procedure, the powers of the
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Federal grand jury should not, even in appearance, be utilized
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to advance the interests of a party to a civil lawsuit.
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Leftkowitz concluded, I look forward to resolving these open issues
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with you. During our four to thirty call today, Philifauna
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was at the time on sick leave, and Slowman and
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Acosta exchange demls about crafting and addendum to the NPA
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to address the method of appointing an attorney representative and
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to articulate the representative's duties. The next day, October eleventh,
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two thousand seven, Slowman exchanged demails with Leftkowitz about the
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text of a proposed addendum. B October twelfth, two thousand seven,
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Acosta and defense attorney left Kowitz meet for breakfast on
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the morning after his scheduled afternoon phone call with Lefkowitz.
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Acosta exchanged emails with left Kowitz, arranging to meet for
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breakfast the following day, on October twelfth, two thousand seven,
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at a Marriott hotel in the West Palm Beach. Contemporaneous
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records showed that Acosta was previously scheduled to be in
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Palm Beach for a press event on October eleventh and
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to speak at the Palm Beach County Bench Bar conference
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the following midday, and that he stayed overnight at the Marriotte. However,
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as with Villafauna's publicly released emails to left Kowitz, this
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meeting between Acosta and Lefkowitz drew criticism when the media
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learned of it during the CVRA litigation. It was seen
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either as further evidence of the usao's willingness to meet
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with Epstein's attorneys while simultaneously ignoring the victims or as
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a meeting at which Acosta made secret agreements with the defense.
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Two letters written later in two thousand and seven referred
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to the breakfast meeting. In a December two thousand seven
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letter to Sanchez, Acosta stated that he had Sue Sponti
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proposed the addendum to mister Lefkowitz at an October meeting
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in Palm Beach in an attempt to avoid what I
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foresaw would likely be a litigous selection process. In an
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October twenty three, two thousand seven, letter from Lefkowitz to Acosta,
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less than two weeks after the breakfast meeting, Lefkowitz represented
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that during the meeting, Acosta assured me that the USAO
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would not intervene with the State Attorney's office regarding this
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matter or contact any of the identified individuals, potential witnesses,
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or potential civil claimants and their respective counsel in this matter,
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and that neither the USAO nor the FBI would intervene
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regarding the sentence mister Epstein receives pursuing too a plea
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with the state so long as the sentence does not
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violate state law. However, two days after receiving this letter,
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Acosta revised a response letter drafted by Sloman, adding the
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term inaccurate to describe Lefkowitz's claims that Acosta had promised
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not to intervene with the State Attorney's office, contact individual witnesses, claimants,
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or intervene regarding Epstein's sentence. The draft response stated, such
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a promise equates to the imposition of a gag order.
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Our office cannot and will not agree to this. A
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Costa told OPR that he did not remember the breakfast meeting,
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but he speculated that the meeting may have been prompted
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by defense complaints that Villa Fauna had recommended her boyfriend's
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partner to serve as attorney representative. Acosta said that the
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way this was reported in the press was that I
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negotiated the NPA over breakfast, which was inaccurate because the
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NPA had been signed weeks before the breakfast meeting. When
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asked about left kowitz description of their breakfast meeting discussion,
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a Costa told OPR that there were several instances in
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which left Kowitz and other defense counsel mischaracterized something he
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or an AAUSA said in a way that was misleading.
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Emails showed that immediately after the breakfast a cost of
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phone Slowman, who then emailed to left Kowitz or revision
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to the addendum language they had been negotiating, and who
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also later reported to Villa Fauna that Lefkowitz suggested revision
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had been rejected. Other emails show that the parties continued
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to be at odds about the proposed language of the
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NPA addendum for several days after the breakfast meeting. All right, folks,
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we're going to wrap up this episode here and in
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the next episode we're going to pick up with a.
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Costa agrees to the defense request to postpone Epstein's guilty plea.
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The parties continue to negotiate issues concerning the attorney representative,
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and finally reach agreement on the NPA addendum. All the
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information that goes with this episode can be found in
11:33
the description box. What's up, everyone, and welcome back to
11:37
the program. In this episode, we're getting right back to
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the OIG report and we're going to pick up where
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we left off. See A Costa agrees to the defense
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request to postpone Epstein's guilty plea. The parties continue to
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negotiate issues concerning the attorney representative and finally reach agreement
11:55
on the NPA addendum. A week after his breakfast meeting
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with Acosta left, Kowitz, citing a scheduling conflicts, sent a
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Costa an email seeking his agreement to postpone Epstein's entry
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of his guilty plea in state court from October twenty six,
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two thousand and seven, the date agreed to in the NPA,
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to November twentieth, two thousand and seven. In his email left,
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Kowitz reported that the State Attorney's office had agreed to
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the postponement, and he noted that Acosta had said during
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the breakfast meeting that he didn't want to dictate the
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schedule to the state. Acosta solicited input from Slowman, who
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later that day email left Kuwitz and agreed to the postponement.
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With Lori having departed from the USAO, Slowman became more
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involved in the negotiating the NPA addendum than he had
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been in the negotiations leading to the NPA, and he
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quickly came up against the problem Villa, Fauna and Lori
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had faced. The defense attorneys continued to negotiate provisions to
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which they had seemingly already agreed. Between October twelfth and nineteenth,
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two thousand and seven, in a series of email exchange
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and phone conversations, Acosta, Sloman, Villa Fauna, and left Kowitz
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continued working on language for the NPA addendum, addressing the
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process for selection of the attorney representative and describing which
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of the representative's activities Epstein would be required to reimburse.
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Although it appeared that progress was being made towards reaching
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agreement on the terms of an addendum, on October nineteenth,
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two thousand and seven, left Kowitz emailed Slowman identifying areas
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of concern with a proposal the USAO had made days before.
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Sloman forwarded the email to Acosta, noting that it replows
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some of what we accomplished this week and raised unnecessary issues.
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Sloman reported to Acosta that a victim in New York
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had filed a civil lawsuit against Epstein, and Villafana was
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concerned that this may be the real reason for the
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delay in the plea. She thinks that Epstein wants to
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knock that lawsuit out before the guilty plea to deter others.
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Slowman also alerted Acosta that newspaper reports indicated that Epstein
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had planted false stories in the press in an attempt
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to discredit the victims. On October twenty second, two thousand
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and seven, Sloman responded to the issues Leftkuwitz had raised,
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rejecting some defense proposals, but agreeing to modify certain language
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in the proposed addendum to satisfy your concern. Noting that
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the addendum had a revised letter to the Special Master
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were attached. Sloman ended by stating, this needs to be concluded,
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Alex and I believe that this is as far as
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we can go. Therefore, please advise me whether we have
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a deal no later than cob tomorrow. Nonetheless, the next day,
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Lefkowitz sent a Costa a three page letter reiterating the
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Epstein team's disagreements with the usao's interpretation of the NPA.
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Lefkowitz noted, however, that Epstein had every intention of honoring
14:49
the terms of the NPA in good faith, and that
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the defense letter was not intended to be a recision
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or withdrawal from the terms of the NPA. Lefkowitz added,
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I also want to thank you your commitment that you
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made to me during our October twelfth meeting in which
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you promise genuine finality with regard to this matter and
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assured me that your office would not intervene with State
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Attorney's office regarding this matter or contact any of the
15:15
identified individuals, potential witnesses, or potential civil claimants and their
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respective counsel in this matter, and that neither your office
15:23
nor the FBI would intervene regarding the sentence mister Epstein
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receives pursuing too a plea with the state so long
15:30
as that sentence does not violate state law. Indeed, so
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long as mister Epstein's sentence does not explicitly violate the
15:37
terms of the agreement, he's entitled to any type of
15:40
sentence available to him, including, but not limited to gain
15:44
time and work release. Sloman forwarded the letter to Villa Fauna, commenting,
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wait until you see this one. Villafana replied, welcome to
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my world. I love the way they want to interpret
15:55
this agreement. It also looks like they're planning to ask
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for and receive a sentence far lower than the one
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we agree to. Has anyone talked to Barry Krisher about this?
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Maybe this is the real reason for the delay in
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entering the guilty plea. We also have to contact the
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victims to tell them about the outcome of the case
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and to advise them that an attorney will be contacting
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them regarding possible claims against mister Epstein. If we don't
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do that, it may be a violation of the Florida
16:23
bar rules for the selected attorney to cold call the girls.
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Why don't we agreed a mutual recision and indictem Acosta
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also weighed in sending both Villa Fauna and Slowman an
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email with a subject line that read this has to stop,
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in which he stated, just read the letter. One. We
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specifically refuse to include the provision, saying that we would
16:44
not communicate if I recall the conference call. We told
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them we could not agree to a gag order using
16:49
those words. Two, the purpose of the agreement was not
16:53
an out of court settlement. Seems that they can't take no,
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let's talk how to proceed. I'm not sure we will
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never her agree on a letter to the Special Master
17:02
about how to select an attorney representative at that point,
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notwithstanding Acosta's assessment and prediction, after Slowman sent the letter
17:10
to Lefkowitz, a new draft addendum, and they spoke by phone.
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The parties reached agreement on the addendum's terms. On October
17:17
twenty fifth, two thousand and seven, Slowman sent a letter
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to the person whom the USAO had selected to serve
17:23
as Special Master, outlining the special Master's duties. A few
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days later, on October twenty ninth, two thousand and seven,
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Epstein and his attorneys left court in Sanchez signed the
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NPA addendum. Villafana's name was printed as the USAO representative,
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but at Villafana's request, Slowman signed the addendum for her
17:41
on behalf of the USAO. Villafana later emailed Slowman, thanking
17:46
him for the advice in the Pep Talk, which apparently
17:49
related to the defense attorney's allegations of impropriety concerning her
17:53
initial selection of the private attorney to assist the victims.
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Villa Fauna explained to Slowman, the funny thing is that
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I never met and still haven't met or spoken to
18:03
the private attorney before I asked him if he would
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be willing to take on this case. But as soon
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as you mentioned the appearance problem, I saw where the
18:10
problem would arise and agreed that the Special Master would
18:13
be a safer route. I just worry that the defense
18:16
attacks on me could harm the victims. Sloman responded that
18:19
Defense Council had put an insidious spin on Villafana's role
18:23
in proposing the private attorney, but Slowman added, I hope
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that you understand that these ad hominem attacks against you
18:30
do not diminish in our eyes what you and the
18:33
agents have accomplished. D Epstein further delays his guilty plea.
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The addendum did not bring the case to conclusion. Instead,
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the matter entered a new protracted phase, which involved the
18:44
upper echelons of the Department of Justice. Despite the fact
18:47
that Epstein and his attorneys had signed the NPA, they
18:50
pursued a new strategy of appealing to senior department managers
18:54
with the goal of setting aside the NPA entirely. Although
18:58
ultimately unsuccessful, the strategy he delayed the entry of Epstein's
19:01
guilty plea by months. On October twenty ninth, two thousand
19:05
and seven, Villa Fauna emailed Slowman, raising several issues that
19:09
she wanted Slowman to address with Lefkowitz. Among other things,
19:13
Villa Fauna pointed out that the NPA required Epstein to
19:16
use his best efforts to comply with the agreement, but
19:19
he had failed to comply with the timeline established by
19:23
the NPA when he sought and obtained a plea hearing
19:26
postponement from October twenty sixth to November twentieth. Responding to
19:31
lefkowitz attempts to limit the usao's communications with various entities
19:36
and individuals, Villa Fauna noted that the USAO needed to
19:40
be able to communicate with the State Attorney's Office and
19:43
the victim's attorney to ensure that Epstein is abiding by
19:46
the terms of his agreement. That same day, Assistant State
19:49
Attorney Bellehovlik informed Slowman that the state judge assigned to
19:53
the case had scheduled Epstein's plea and sentence in early
19:57
January two thousand and eight. Bellehovlk assured Sloman that the
20:00
plea and sentence will definitely occur before the January fourth
20:04
date that was agreed on by all for sentencing. Nonetheless,
20:07
emails over the course of the next month show that
20:10
the USAO, the State Attorney's Office, the Defense Council continued
20:14
to communicate regarding the date of the guilty plea, with
20:17
the USAO asserting that a proposed January seventh, two thousand
20:21
and eight date for the entry of Epstein's guilty plea
20:24
was unacceptable, while the defense contended that Epstein had not
20:28
agreed to any date. Finally, after multiple communications referring to
20:32
various potential dates, on December seventh, two thousand and seven,
20:36
Epstein attorney Jack Goldberger issued a notice of hearing setting
20:40
the case for January fourth, two thousand and eight. E
20:43
Epstein seeks Department review of the NPA Section twenty two
20:47
to fifty five provision relating to monetary damages for the victims.
20:52
With Epstein's plea hearing delayed, he launched a new effort
20:55
to undermine the validity of the NPA, this time within
20:58
the department. November sixteenth, two thousand and seven, Epstein attorney
21:03
Kenneth Starr called the Office of Assistant Attorney General for
21:06
the Criminal Division, Alish Fisher, and left a message that
21:09
he was calling regarding Epstein. At Fisher's request, Lorie, who
21:13
in late September two thousand and seven began serving his
21:16
detail as Fisher's principal deputy and chief of staff, return
21:20
the call. Fisher told OPR that she had no recollection
21:23
of this call, and Laurie also could not recall for
21:26
OPR the substance of his conversations with Starr, other than
21:30
that it was likely about Epstein's wish to have the
21:33
Department review the case. On November twenty eighth, two thousand
21:37
and seven, Starr requested by letter of meeting with Fisher.
21:40
In his letter, Star argued that the USAO improperly had
21:44
compelled Epstein to agree to pay civil damages under US
21:48
Code eighteen, Section twenty two fifty five as part of
21:51
a state based resolution of a criminal case. On that
21:54
same day, Lefkowitz emailed Slowman complaining about the usao's plant
21:58
to notify victims about the twenty two to fifty five
22:01
provision and alerting Slowman that Epstein's council we're seeking a
22:06
meeting with the Assistant Attorney General to address what we
22:09
believe is the unprecedented nature of the section twenty two
22:12
to fifty five component of the NPA. After Lori sent
22:15
to Slowman a copy of the Star letter, Slowman forwarded
22:19
it to Villa Fauna, asking her to prepare a chronology
22:22
of the plea negotiations. And how the twenty two to
22:25
fifty five provision evolved. Villafana responded that she was going
22:29
through all of the ways in which they have tried
22:31
to breach the agreement to convince you guys to let
22:34
me indict. All right, we're going to wrap up this
22:36
episode here and in the next episode we're going to
22:39
pick up where we left off. All of the information
22:42
that goes with this episode can be found in the
22:44
description box. What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the
22:47
Epstein chronicles. In this episode, we're getting right back to
22:51
the OIG report into Jeffrey Epstein's non prosecution agreement. In Washington, DC,
22:58
Louri consulted with CEO's chief Osterbon, asking for his thoughts
23:02
on defense counsel's arguments. At the same time, at Lourie's request,
23:06
Villa Fauna sent the NPA and its addendum to Louri
23:09
and Osterbon. Osterbon responded to Lori that he was not
23:13
thrilled about the NPA, described Epstein's conduct as unusually egregious,
23:17
particularly because of its serial nature, and observed that the
23:21
NPA was pretty advantageous for the defendant and not all
23:25
that helpful to the victims. He opined however, that the
23:28
Assistant Attorney General would not and should not consider or
23:31
address the NPA other than say that she agrees with it.
23:35
During her OPR interview, Fischer did not recall reading Starr's
23:38
letter or discussing it with Osterbon, but believed the comment
23:42
about her agreeing with it referred to a federal prosecution
23:45
of Epstein, which she believed was appropriate. She told OPR, however,
23:49
that she played no role in the NPA and did
23:52
not review or approve the agreement either before or after
23:55
it was signed. As set fourth and more detail in
23:58
chapter three of this report, Villa Fauna planned to notify
24:01
the victims about the NPA and its section twenty two
24:04
to fifty five provision, as well as about the state
24:07
plea hearing, and she provided a draft of the notification
24:10
letter to left Kowitz four comments. On November twenty ninth,
24:13
two thousand and seven, left Kowitz sent a Costo a
24:16
letter complaining about the draft notification to the victims. Lefkowitz
24:20
asked USAO to refrain from notifying the victims until after
24:25
Defense counsel met with Assistant Attorney General Fisher, which he
24:28
anticipated would take place the following week. Internal emails indicate
24:32
that Lori contacted Osterbahn about his availability for a meeting
24:36
with Starr, but both Fisher and Laurie told OPR that
24:40
such a meeting never took place, and OPR found no
24:43
evidence that it did. Acosta promptly responded to Lefkowitz by
24:47
letter directing him to raise his concerns about victim notification
24:51
with Villa, Fauna or Sloman. Acosta also addressed Epstein's evident
24:56
efforts to stop the NPA from being enforced. Since the
24:59
signing of the September twenty fourth agreement more than two
25:02
months ago, it has become clear that several attorneys on
25:05
your legal team are dissatisfied with that result. You. Professor Dershowitz,
25:10
former Solicitor Star, former United States Attorney Lewis miss Sanchez,
25:15
Black Goldberg, and left Court previously had the opportunity to
25:18
review and raise objections to the terms of the agreement.
25:21
The defense team, however, after extensive negotiation, chose to adopt
25:25
the agreement. Since then, Council have objected to several steps
25:29
taken by the U S. Attorney's Office to effectuate the
25:31
terms of the agreement, in essence presenting collateral challenges to
25:36
portions of the agreement. It is not the intention of
25:40
this office ever to require a defendant tend to applee
25:43
against his wishes. Your client has the right to proceed
25:46
to trial if your client is dissatisfied with this agreement
25:49
or believes that it is unvalid, unlawful, or unfair, we
25:53
stand ready to unwine the agreement. In a separate seven
25:56
page letter to Star, with Villafana and Sloman's input, a
25:59
cost to respond it to the substance of Starr's November
26:02
twenty eighth letter to assist an Attorney General Fisher. Fischer
26:06
told OPR that she did not recall Hyacosta rather than
26:09
her office responded to the letter, but she conjectured that
26:13
probably I was trying to make sure that somebody responded
26:16
since the Criminal Division wasn't going to respond. In his
26:19
seven page letter sent a Star on December fourth, two
26:22
thousand and seven, Acosta wrote, the non prosecution agreement entered
26:26
into between this office and mister Epstein response to mister
26:29
Epstein's desire to reach a global resolution of his state
26:32
and federal criminal liability. Under this agreement, this District has
26:36
agreed to defer prosecution for enumerated sections of Title eighteen
26:41
in favor of prosecution by the State of Florida provided
26:44
mister Epstein satisfies three general federal interests, one that mister
26:48
Epstein plead guilty to a registrable offense, two that this
26:52
plea include a binding recommendation for a sufficient term of imprisonment,
26:56
and three that the agreement not harmed the interests of
26:59
his victims. A Costa explained in the letter that usao's
27:02
intent was to place the identified victims in the same
27:05
position as they would have been if mister Epstein was
27:08
convicted at trial, no more, no less. Acosta documented the
27:13
usao's understanding of the operation of the NPA's Section twenty
27:17
two fifty five provision, recounted the history of the NPA negotiations,
27:21
and described the post signing efforts by Epstein's council to
27:25
challenge portions of the NPA. Acosta's letter concluded, although it
27:29
happens rarely, I do not mind this office decision being
27:32
appealed to Washington, and have previously directed our prosecutors to
27:36
delay filings in this case to provide defense counsel with
27:40
the option of appealing our decisions Indeed, although I am
27:43
confident in our prosecutor's evidence and legal analysis, I nonetheless
27:47
directed them to consult with the subject matter experts in
27:50
CEOs to confirm our interpretation of the law before approving
27:54
their charges. I am thus surprised to read a letter
27:57
addressed to Department Headquarters that raises issue chose that either
28:01
have not been raised with this office previously, or that
28:04
have been raised and in fact resolved in your client's favor.
28:07
I am troubled likewise by the apparent lack of finality
28:10
in this agreement. The Usays who have been negotiating with
28:14
Defense Counsel have for some time complained to me regarding
28:17
the tactics used by the Defense team. It appears to
28:20
them that as soon as resolution is reached on one issue,
28:23
Defense Counsel finds ways to challenge the resolution collaterally. My
28:28
response thus far has been that Defense Council is doing
28:30
its job to vigorously represent the client that said, there
28:34
must be closure on this matter. Some in our office
28:36
are deeply concerned that Defense Council will continue to amount
28:39
collateral challenges to provisions of the agreement even after mister
28:43
Epstein has entered his guilty plea and thus rendered the
28:46
agreement difficult, if not unpossible, to unwind. I would reiterate
28:51
that this is not the intention of the office to
28:53
ever force the hand of a defendant to enter into
28:55
an agreement against his wishes. Your client has the right
28:58
to proceed to trial, although time is of the essence,
29:01
I am directing our prosecutors not to issue victim notification
29:05
letters until this Friday to provide you with time to
29:08
review these options with your client. We expect a written
29:11
decision by December seventh, two thousand and seven, at five pm,
29:15
indicating whether the defense team wishes to reaffirm or to
29:18
unwind the agreement. Acosta explained to OPR that he did
29:23
not view the letter as inviting department review, but he
29:26
believed that department had the right to address Epstein's concerns. Moreover,
29:30
the usao's only option at the time was to declare
29:33
Epstein in breach of the NPA, which would have prompted
29:36
litigation as to whether Epstein was in fact in breach.
29:40
Acosta noted that Defense Council repeatedly proclaimed Epstein's intent to
29:44
abide by the agreement, making any USAO effort to declare
29:48
him in breach more difficult. In fact, the day after
29:51
receiving Acosta's letter, Star and left Quitz responded to Acosta
29:55
with copies to Slowman and the Assistant Attorney General Fisher
30:00
that the defense first and foremost reaffirmed the NPA, that
30:03
Epstein had no intention of unwinding his agreement. On December seventh,
30:07
two thousand and seven, the deadline set by Acosta in
30:10
his December fourth, two thousand and seven letter to Star,
30:13
the defense transmitted to the USAO one sentence affirmation of
30:17
the NPA and its addendum signed by Epstein. F despite
30:22
affirming the NPA Defense Council intensify their challenges to it,
30:27
and accused Villa Fauna of improper conduct. One December seventh
30:31
and eleventh, two thousand and seven, Star and Leftkuwit send
30:34
to Acosta letters and ethics opinions complaining about the federal
30:38
investigation and Villa Fauna. On the same day that the
30:42
defense team sent Epstein's affirmation to the USAO, Star and
30:46
Left Kuwitz sent to Acosta two independent ethics opinions, one
30:50
authored by prominent criminal defense attorney and former U S
30:53
attorney Joe Whitley, which assessed purported improprieties in the federal
30:57
investigation of Epstein and the by a prominent retired federal
31:02
judge and former U S attorney arguing against the NPA's
31:05
use of civil damage's recovery provision under US Code eighteen,
31:09
section twenty two fifty five as a proxy for traditional
31:13
criminal restitution. Days later, on December eleventh, two thousand seven,
31:18
Star sent a letter to Acosta transmitting two lengthy submissions
31:22
authored by left Kuwitz, presenting substantative challenges to the NPA
31:26
and to the background and conduct of the investigation. These
31:30
submissions repeated arguments previously raised by the defense, but also
31:34
asserted new issues. In one submission, twenty pages long, left
31:38
Kowitz addressed the improper involvement of federal authorities in the
31:41
investigation and criticized Villafauna for a number of alleged improprieties,
31:46
including having engaged in unprecedented federal overreaching by seeking to
31:51
prosecute Epstein federally, insisting that the state attorney's office charged
31:55
mister Epstein with violations of law and recommend a sentence
31:59
that are significantly horg pr sure than what the state
32:01
deemed appropriate, and requiring that Epstein plead guilty to a
32:05
registrable offense, a harsh condition that was unwarranted. Lefkowitz also
32:11
argued that the federal investigation relied upon a state investigation
32:15
that was tanked by the lead PBPD detectives, misrepresentation of
32:19
key facts and affidavids, and interview summaries, leading the USAO
32:24
to make its charging decision based on flawed information that
32:27
compromised the federal investigation. Finally, left Kowitz criticized federal involvement
32:33
in the state plea process as a violation of the
32:35
tenants of the petit Policy. In a second thirteen page submission,
32:39
left Kowitz reiterated Epstein's complaints about the section twenty two
32:43
to fifty five component of the NPA, arguing, among other things,
32:47
that federal prosecutors should not be in the business of
32:50
helping allege victims of state crimes secure civil financial settlements.
32:55
Notwithstanding these voluminous submissions, Lefkowitz added that Epstein on one
33:00
conditionally reasserts his intention to fulfill and not seek to
33:03
withdraw from or unwind the NPA. Two. As a result
33:08
of the star in left Kowitz submissions, the new USAO
33:11
Criminal Chief begins a full review of the evidence, and
33:14
Acosta agrees to meet again with defense counsel. After reviewing
33:19
Starr in Lefkowitz letters, Sloman notified Villa Fauna that, in
33:22
light of the recent Kirkland and Ellis correspondence, he had
33:25
asked Robert Senior, who had succeeded Menchell as chief of
33:29
the usao's Criminal Division, to review di novo the evidence
33:33
underlying the proposed revised indictments, and Sloman asked Villa Fauna
33:37
to provide Signor or Senior with all the state and
33:40
FBI investigative materials. In the meantime, Acosta agreed to meet
33:46
with Starr and other Epstein defense attorneys to discuss the
33:49
defense complaints raised in left Kowitz December eleventh, two thousand
33:53
seven submissions. The meeting took place in Miami on December fourteenth,
33:57
two thousand seven. The defense team included Starr, Dershowitz, left Court,
34:01
and Boston attorney Martin Weinberg. The USAO side included Acosta, Sloman,
34:06
Villa Fauna, and another senior AUSA with the Miami FBI
34:10
Special Agent in Charge and Assistant Special Agent in Charge
34:14
also present. In addition to previously raised arguments. During this meeting,
34:19
Epstein's attorneys raised a new argument that the state charge
34:22
to which Epstein had agreed to plead guilty did not
34:25
apply to the facts of the case. All right, we're
34:28
going to wrap up this episode here, and in the
34:29
next episode, we're going to pick up with three. The
34:32
defense notifies Acosta that it may pursue a department review
34:36
of the usao's actions. All of the information that goes
34:39
with this episode can be found in the description box.
34:43
What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein chronicles.
34:47
In this episode, we're getting right back to the OIG
34:49
report into the Jeffrey Epstein non prosecution agreement. Three. The
34:54
defense notifies Acosta that it may pursue a department review
34:58
of the usao's actions. Shortly after the December fourteenth, two
35:02
thousand and seven meeting left, Kuwitz notified Acosta that if
35:05
the issues raised at the meeting could not be resolved promptly,
35:09
the defense team may have no alternative but to seek
35:11
review in Washington. Acosta notified Assistant Attorney General Fisher that
35:16
the defense team might make an appeal tour, and he
35:19
asked to grant such a request for review to in fact,
35:23
review this case in an expedited matter in order to
35:26
preserve the January fourth plea deal star and Leftquwitz then
35:30
sent to Acosta a lengthy letter with numerous previously submitted
35:34
Defense submissions, reviewing issues discussed at the meeting and advising
35:39
that Epstein sought a prompt, independent, expedited review of the
35:43
evidence by you or someone you trust. The letter reiterated
35:46
Epstein's position that his conduct did not amount to a
35:50
registrable offense under state law or a violation of federal law,
35:55
and with respect to the NPA's Section twenty two to
35:58
fifty five provision, that it was a proper to require
36:00
Epstein to pay damages to individuals who do nothing but
36:04
simply assert a claim under the statute. Four. Acosta attempts
36:09
to revise the NPA Section twenty two to fifty five
36:12
language concerning monetary damages, but the Defense does not accept it.
36:16
Acosta undertook to respond to Defense Council's continuing concern about
36:21
the Section twenty two to fifty five provision. He sent
36:24
to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sigel Mandelker language that he
36:28
proposed including in a revision to the NPA Section twenty
36:33
two to fifty five implementation section. Mandelker forwarded the language
36:37
to her counterpart in the Civil Division, who responded to
36:40
Mandulker and Acosta that he did not have any insight
36:43
to offer. On December ninth, two thousand and seven, after
36:46
Acosta and Sloman had a phone conversation with Star and Lefkowitz,
36:50
Acosta sent to Sanchez a letter proposing to resolve our
36:54
disagreements over interpretation by replacing the existing language of the
36:59
NPA relaying to section twenty two to fifty five with
37:02
a provision that would read, any person who, while a minor,
37:05
was a victim of a violation of an offense enumerated
37:08
in Title eighteen United States Code, Section twenty two to
37:12
fifty five will have the same rights to proceed under
37:15
Section twenty two to fifty five as she would have
37:17
had if mister Epstein had been tried federally and convicted
37:21
of enumerated offenses. For purposes of implementing this paragraph, the
37:25
United States shall provide mister Epstein's attorneys with a list
37:28
of individuals whom it was prepared to name as victims
37:32
of an enumerated offense by mister Epstein. Any judicial authority
37:37
interpreting this provision, including any authority determining which evidentiary burdens,
37:42
if any a plaintiff must meet, shall consider that it
37:46
is the intent of the parties to place these identified
37:49
victims in the same position as they would have been
37:52
had mister Epstein been convicted at trial. No more, no less.
37:57
Acosta also noted that he had resisted his prose Cocuter's
38:00
urging to declare the NPA breached by the defense delays.
38:04
Left Gowitz responded by letter a few days later, suggesting
38:07
that Acosta's proposal raise several troubling questions and that the
38:11
problem arises from the incongruity that exists when attempting to
38:15
fit a federal civil remedy statute into a criminal plea agreement.
38:20
In a follow up letter to Acosta to address the
38:22
usao's concern that Epstein was intentionally delaying the entry of
38:26
his guilty plea left Gowitz asserted that any impediment to
38:30
the resolution at issue is a direct cause of the
38:33
disagreements between the parties, and that Defense Council had at
38:37
all times made and will continue to make, sincere efforts
38:40
to resolve and finalize issues as expeditiously as possible. Acosta
38:45
told o PR that despite this assurance from the Defense Council,
38:49
he was increasingly frustrated by Epstein's desire to take an
38:52
eleventh hour appeal to the department soon before the scheduled
38:57
January fourth, two thousand and eight plea hearing. As soon
39:00
became apparent, Acosta was unable to achieve an expedited review
39:04
so that Epstein could plead guilty and be sentenced by
39:07
January fourth, two thousand and eight, and plea in sentencing
39:11
date was rescheduled. On January second, two thousand and eight,
39:14
Sloman spoke with Assistant State Attorney Bellehovlk, who confirmed that
39:19
the change of plea hearing had been postponed. In an
39:21
email reporting this to Acosta in Villafauna, Sloman said that
39:25
Epstein's local defense attorney, Goldberger, had told Bellehovlk the postponement
39:30
was because the facts did not fit the proposed date charge,
39:33
and that Bellohovlk told Sloman she agreed with that assessment.
39:37
The next day, Vilafauna sent to Acosta and Slowman a
39:40
local newspaper article reporting that Epstein's plea hearings was reset
39:45
for March, and in exchange for it, the federal authorities
39:48
would drop their investigation of them. Acosta also sent to
39:52
Slowman and Villafauna an email memorializing a statement made to
39:56
him by left Kowitz in a phone call that day
39:58
I left. Kowitz may have made a mistake. Six months ago,
40:02
Bellohovlik told us solicitation is not registrable. It turns out
40:06
that the actual offense charged is five. January seventh, two
40:11
thousand eight, Acosta and Slowman meet with Sanchez, who makes
40:14
additional allegations of USAO misconduct. On January seventh, two thousand eight,
40:20
Acosta and Sloman met with the defense attorney Sanchez at
40:24
her request. According to meeting notes made by Sloman, among
40:27
other things, Sanchez alleged that the usao's media spokesperson had
40:32
improperly disclosed details of the Epstein case to a national
40:35
news reporter, and Sanchez suggested that the USAO could avoid
40:39
any potential ugliness in DC by agreeing to a watered
40:43
down resolution for Epstein. After Acosta excused himself to attend
40:47
another meeting and Slowman refused to speak further with Sanchez
40:50
without a witness present she left. Later that day, Acosta
40:54
and Sloman spoke by phone with Star Leftquwitz, and Sanchez,
40:57
who expressed concern about the leak to the New Use media.
41:00
Reiterated their objections to the NPA and pressed for the
41:04
water down resolution, which they specified would mean allowing Epstein
41:08
to plead to a charge of coercion instead of procurement,
41:11
avoid serving jail time, and not register as a sexual offender.
41:15
A note in the margin of Sloman's handwritten notes of
41:18
the conversation reads were back to where we started in September.
41:22
That evening, Villa Fauna expressed concern that the delay in
41:26
resolving the matter was affecting the usao's ability to go
41:30
forward with a prosecution should Epstein renege on his agreement,
41:34
and she outlined for Acosta in Sloman the steps she
41:37
proposed to take while Epstein was pursuing departmental review. Those
41:41
steps included re establishing contact with victims, interviewing victims in
41:45
New York and one victim who lived in a foreign country,
41:48
making contact with potential sources of information in the Virgin Islands,
41:52
and reinitiating proceedings to obtain Epstein's computers in the meantime,
41:57
USAO Criminal Division Chief Rob Signor performed a soup to
42:02
nuts review of the Epstein investigation, reviewing the indictment package
42:06
and all of the evidence Villa Fauna had compiled. He
42:10
told OPR that he could not recall the reason for
42:12
his review, but opined that it was to establish whether,
42:16
if the plea fell apart, he is chief would agree
42:19
that we can go forward with the charges. He did
42:21
not recall being concerned after completing the review that we
42:25
did not have a lot of victims lined up already
42:28
that were ready to testify, and that some victims might
42:30
not be favorable for us. Nevertheless, he concluded that the
42:34
proposed charges were sound, and he told Acosta that he
42:37
would approve proceeding with a federal case. Six. Acosta asked
42:41
CEOs to review the evidence. Notwithstanding Signor's favorable review, Acosta
42:47
and Slowman and told Starr and Lefkowitz that they appreciated
42:51
that the defense wanted a fresh face to conduct a review,
42:54
and they noted that the criminal chief had not undertaken
42:57
the in depth work associated with issues raised by the defense.
43:01
They told the defense team that Acosta had asked CEOs
43:04
to come on board and that CEO's chief Osterbaonn would
43:07
designate an attorney having a national perspective to conduct a
43:11
fresh review in light of the defense submissions. Osterbon assigned
43:15
a CEO's trial attorney, whom Villa Fauna understood was to
43:19
review the case and prepare for trial in the event
43:21
Epstein did not consummate the NPA. The CEO's trial attorney
43:26
traveled to Florida to review the case materials and to
43:29
meet with Villa Fauna to discuss the case and interview
43:32
some of the victims. After one such meeting, Villa Fanna
43:35
wrote to a Costa and Sloman, we just interviewing three
43:38
of the girls. I wish you could have been here
43:40
to see how much this has affected them. One girl
43:43
broke down sobbing so that we had to stop the
43:45
interview twice within a twenty minute span. She regained her
43:48
composure to continue a short time, but she said that
43:51
she was having nightmares about Epstein coming after her, and
43:54
that she started to break down again, so we stopped
43:57
the interview. The second girl told us that she was
43:59
very upset about the eighteen month deal she had read
44:02
about in the paper. She said the eighteen months was nothing,
44:05
and that she had heard that the girls could get restitution,
44:08
but she would rather not get any money and have
44:11
Epstein spend a significant time in jail. These girls deserve
44:15
so much better than they have received so far, and
44:17
I hate feeling that there is nothing I can do
44:19
to help them. The CEO's trial attorney had substantial experience
44:24
prosecuting child exploitation cases. She told oh PR that, in
44:28
her view, the victim witnesses in this case presented a
44:30
number of challenges for a prosecution. Some of the victims
44:34
did not want to admit they had sexual contact with Epstein.
44:37
Some had recruited other victims to provide Epstein massages and
44:41
thus could have been charged as accomplices. Some had drug
44:44
histories and things like that. Some could appear to have
44:47
been complicit, and there is no evidence of physical violence
44:50
against the victims. She did not regard these victims issues
44:54
as insurmountable, but based on these alone, the cees trial
44:58
attorney considered a potential process secution of Epstein to be
45:01
a crapshoot. In addition, she told OPR that there were
45:04
novel legal issues in the case that also presented difficulties.
45:08
Although she believed these difficulties could be overcome shortly after
45:12
the CEO's trial attorney met with the victims. However, things
45:16
just stopped when Osterbaond instructed her to cease her involvement
45:20
in the case and CEOs engaged in the Criminal Division
45:23
review sought by Epstein's defense team. All Right, we're going
45:27
to wrap this episode up here, and in the next episode,
45:29
we're going to pick up where we left off with
45:31
Section nine February through June two thousand and eight. The
45:34
Department's review. All of the information that goes with this
45:38
episode can be found in the description box.