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2.7 MB
Extraction Summary
9
People
6
Organizations
1
Locations
3
Events
3
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
News article excerpt / house oversight committee evidence
File Size:
2.7 MB
Summary
This document is a news article excerpt, marked as House Oversight Committee evidence, detailing the scrutiny surrounding Alexander Acosta and A. Marie Villafaña regarding the non-prosecution agreement they negotiated for Jeffrey Epstein. It highlights a federal judge's ruling that the deal violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by intentionally withholding information from victims. The text also notes a DOJ probe launched in January into potential professional misconduct and mentions that the White House was reviewing Acosta's involvement.
People (9)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Epstein | Subject / Defendant |
Multimillionaire money manager who sexually abused nearly three dozen teenage girls at his mansion in Palm Beach.
|
| A. Marie Villafaña | Lead Federal Prosecutor / Assistant U.S. Attorney |
Put together the plea bargain; 18-year veteran prosecutor; currently under scrutiny for misconduct.
|
| Alexander Acosta | Former Prosecutor / U.S. Secretary of Labor |
Put together the plea bargain; facing mounting scrutiny for oversight of the Epstein case.
|
| Kenneth A. Marra | U.S. District Court Judge |
Ruled that the deal violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
|
| Sarah Huckabee Sanders | White House Press Secretary |
Declined to confirm confidence in Acosta; stated his involvement is under review.
|
| Donald Trump | President |
Mentioned regarding his confidence in Acosta.
|
| Francey Hakes | Former DOJ Official (Crimes Against Children unit) |
Commented on the brutality of the judicial comments and the rarity of alleging an attorney withheld information.
|
| Zloch | Judge (implied) |
Reference to 'Zloch's comments' regarding deterring prosecutors from secrecy (William Zloch).
|
| Jonathan Biran | Lawyer |
Attorney for A. Marie Villafaña.
|
Organizations (6)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Attorney's Office |
Office handling the prosecution.
|
|
| Justice Department |
Launched a probe into misconduct.
|
|
| Justice Department’s Crimes Against Children unit |
Former employer of Francey Hakes.
|
|
| U.S. District Court |
Court presiding over the review of the plea deal.
|
|
| White House |
Source of press comments regarding Acosta.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT'.
|
Timeline (3 events)
2008 (implied 'Later that year')
Acosta and Villafaña created the plea bargain for Epstein.
Palm Beach
January (relative to article)
Justice Department launched a probe into professional misconduct by Acosta and Villafaña.
Washington D.C.
Last Month (relative to article)
Federal judge ruled the plea deal violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
U.S. District Court
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of Epstein's mansion and crimes.
|
Relationships (3)
Acosta and Villafaña put together a plea bargain for Epstein
her lawyer, Jonathan Biran, said she has worked tirelessly
declined to say whether President Trump has full confidence in Acosta
Key Quotes (4)
"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."Source
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Quote #1
"Acosta’s involvement in the Epstein case is “currently under review.”"Source
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Quote #2
"It is highly unusual for a court to allege an assistant U.S. attorney has intentionally withheld information. That allegation is like dropping a bomb in the legal community"Source
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Quote #3
"It seems to show that they are not taking these cases very seriously, they are not advocating for strong punishment for sexual predators, and not advocating for victims in a meaningful way."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021742.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,620 characters)
A. Marie Villafaña was the lead federal prosecutor in the Jeffrey Epstein sex case. The U.S. attorney’s office’s handling of the prosecution, which led to a plea to minor charges in state court, has been harshly criticized.
Later that year, Acosta and Villafaña put together a plea bargain for Epstein, a multimillionaire money manager who sexually abused nearly three dozen teenage girls at his mansion in Palm Beach. The deal, a federal judge ruled last month, was intentionally kept from his victims in violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
While the two cases are unrelated, it shows that both Acosta and Villafaña had been warned about the importance of victim disclosure in sex crimes cases before the Epstein agreement. They nevertheless forged ahead with a pact with Epstein that violated the law.
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra 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.”
This comes as Acosta, who is now the U.S. secretary of labor, is facing mounting scrutiny for his oversight of the Epstein case. On Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to say whether President Trump has full confidence in Acosta, noting that Acosta’s involvement in the Epstein case is “currently under review.”
The Justice Department launched a probe in January into whether Acosta, Villafaña and other prosecutors committed professional misconduct.
Francey Hakes, who worked in the Justice Department’s Crimes Against Children unit, said Zloch’s comments were so brutal that it should have deterred Acosta and Villafaña from keeping the deal secret.
“It is highly unusual for a court to allege an assistant U.S. attorney has intentionally withheld information. That allegation is like dropping a bomb in the legal community,” she said.
The story behind a Palm Beach sex offender’s remarkable deal
Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein is a free man, despite sexually abusing dozens of underage girls according to police and prosecutors. His victims have never had a voice, until now.
“It seems to show that they are not taking these cases very seriously, they are not advocating for strong punishment for sexual predators, and not advocating for victims in a meaningful way. “
Villafaña, a well-regarded 18-year veteran federal prosecutor, would not comment for this story. But her lawyer, Jonathan Biran, said she has worked tirelessly on
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