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862 KB
Extraction Summary
9
People
5
Organizations
2
Locations
3
Events
6
Relationships
9
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Legal document
File Size:
862 KB
Summary
This document details events from August-September 2007 in the Jeffrey Epstein case, focusing on U.S. Attorney Acosta's decision to meet with Epstein's newly hired, high-profile attorneys, Kenneth Starr and Jay Lefkowitz. It reveals internal tensions, with the FBI pushing for federal prosecution, while Acosta strategized with his colleague Sloman to manage the new defense team and prevent them from escalating procedural complaints to Washington D.C. The document also notes Acosta's prior professional relationship with Starr and Lefkowitz from his time at their law firm, Kirkland & Ellis.
People (9)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Menchel |
Confirmed he sent a letter by email. Also mentioned in a footnote as being present when Acosta received a call from K...
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| Sloman |
Was told by the West Palm Beach FBI squad supervisor about Epstein's case. Was allegedly "yelled at" by the superviso...
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| Epstein | Defendant/Subject of investigation |
Subject of the case. Rejected the USAO's proposal. Hired additional attorneys Kenneth Starr and Jay Lefkowitz.
|
| Villafaña |
Told OPR that the FBI squad supervisor "yelled at" Sloman and that Epstein's team was "incensed".
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| Acosta | U.S. Attorney (implied) |
Agreed to meet with Epstein's new attorneys. Had previously worked at Kirkland & Ellis with Starr and Lefkowitz. Corr...
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| Kenneth Starr | Attorney |
A prominent attorney from Kirkland & Ellis hired by Epstein. Acosta knew him from previous employment.
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| Jay Lefkowitz | Attorney |
A prominent attorney from Kirkland & Ellis hired by Epstein. Acosta knew him from previous employment.
|
| Lourie |
Mentioned in footnote 93 as the recipient of an email from Sloman reporting a conversation with the FBI squad supervi...
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| Ken Starr | Attorney |
Mentioned in a quote by Acosta, identifying him as the person on a phone call. Same person as Kenneth Starr.
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Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| OPR | government agency |
Office of Professional Responsibility, which was interviewing individuals (Villafaña, Sloman, Acosta, Menchel) about ...
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| West Palm Beach FBI | government agency |
A squad supervisor from this office expressed frustration to Sloman about the USAO's decision not to prosecute Epstei...
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| USAO | government agency |
U.S. Attorney's Office. Its proposal was rejected by Epstein, and its decision not to prosecute federally was a point...
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| Kirkland & Ellis | company |
Law firm where Kenneth Starr and Jay Lefkowitz worked, and where Acosta was previously an associate.
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| Department | government agency |
Likely refers to the Department of Justice, to which Kirkland & Ellis attorneys were considering elevating their obje...
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Timeline (3 events)
2007-08
Epstein hired additional attorneys, Kenneth Starr and Jay Lefkowitz from Kirkland & Ellis.
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of the FBI squad involved in the Epstein case.
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Mentioned as the location (likely Department of Justice headquarters) where Epstein's attorneys might elevate their o...
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Relationships (6)
They communicated via email about case strategy regarding Epstein's new attorneys and the potential for the case to be escalated to DC.
Acosta had worked at Kirkland & Ellis as a junior associate from 1995-1997 and had worked on a matter with Starr, establishing a professional acquaintanceship before Starr was hired by Epstein.
Acosta had worked at Kirkland & Ellis as a junior associate from 1995-1997 and had worked on a matter with Lefkowitz, establishing a professional acquaintanceship before Lefkowitz was hired by Epstein.
The supervisor expressed frustration to Sloman about the USAO's handling of the Epstein case, with Villafaña describing the interaction as the supervisor having "yelled at" Sloman.
The document states that Epstein added Kenneth Starr to his legal team.
The document states that Epstein added Jay Lefkowitz to his legal team.
Key Quotes (9)
"wanted to know whether this letter went out. Because . . . if the letter didn’t go out we can make this all go away and restart."Source
— unnamed person
(Statement made to OPR regarding a letter.)
DOJ-OGR-00021259.jpg
Quote #1
"yelled at"Source
— Villafaña
(Describing the West Palm Beach FBI squad supervisor's interaction with Sloman regarding the USAO's decision not to prosecute Epstein federally.)
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Quote #2
"incensed"Source
— Villafaña
(Describing the reaction of Epstein's team to Acosta not meeting with them and the short deadline.)
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Quote #3
"Just saw Menchel. I didn’t know Kirkland made a call into you. You were right. Unbelievable."Source
— Sloman
(In an email to Acosta on August 6, 2007.)
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Quote #4
"They are likely to go to DC. We should strategize a bit. We are not changing positions, and that should be made clear."Source
— Acosta
(In a reply email to Sloman regarding the actions of Epstein's attorneys.)
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Quote #5
"[Epstein’s] attorneys want to go to DC on the case, on the grounds of a process foul, i.e., that I have not met with them. I’m concerned that this will delay matters."Source
— Acosta
(In a written communication to Sloman the day after the initial emails.)
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Quote #6
"The guy is killing me."Source
— Sloman
(A comment made in an email to Lourie, referring to the FBI squad supervisor (footnote 93).)
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Quote #7
"When do we indict? Why don’t we just move forward?"Source
— West Palm Beach FBI squad supervisor
(Statement the supervisor recalled likely making to Sloman, expressing frustration with the case's progress (footnote 93).)
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Quote #8
"[T]hat was Ken Starr,"Source
— Acosta
(Statement made to Menchel after finishing a phone conversation, identifying the caller (footnote 95).)
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Quote #9
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (3,298 characters)
Case 22-1426, Document 77, 06/29/2023, 3536038, Page87 of 258
SA-85
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 85 of 348
SA-85
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 85 of 348
to OPR that she “wanted to know whether this letter went out. Because . . . if the letter didn’t go out we can make this all go away and restart.” Menchel confirmed to her that he had sent the letter out by email.
Later that day, the West Palm Beach FBI squad supervisor told Sloman that he understood Epstein had rejected the USAO’s proposal, and he asked when Epstein would be charged. Villafaña told OPR that the squad supervisor “yelled at” Sloman about the USAO’s decision not to prosecute Epstein federally. Sloman similarly told OPR that the squad supervisor “like [Villafaña] . . . [a]nd the agents felt very strongly about the case.”⁹³
C. August – September 2007: Epstein Hires Additional Attorneys, Who Meet with Acosta
1. Acosta Agrees to Meet with Epstein’s New Attorneys
Villafaña told OPR that Epstein’s team was “incensed” that Acosta would not meet with them and that the USAO had set such a short deadline to respond to its offer. Around this time, Epstein added to his team Kenneth Starr and Jay Lefkowitz, two prominent attorneys from the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, whom Acosta knew from his employment a decade earlier as an associate at the firm.⁹⁴ On the evening of August 6, 2007, Sloman emailed Acosta, “Just saw Menchel. I didn’t know Kirkland made a call into you. You were right. Unbelievable.” During their OPR interviews, neither Acosta nor Sloman remembered the call from Kirkland & Ellis and could provide no additional information about the contact.⁹⁵ A reply email from Acosta to Sloman indicates that the Kirkland & Ellis attorneys were considering elevating to the Department their objections to the USAO’s involvement in the Epstein matter. In that email, Acosta stated, “They are likely to go to DC. We should strategize a bit. We are not changing positions, and that should be made clear.”
The next day, Acosta wrote to Sloman:
[Epstein’s] attorneys want to go to DC on the case, on the grounds of a process foul, i.e., that I have not met with them. I’m concerned that this will delay matters.
I am thinking of heading this off, by (i) agreeing to meet to discuss general legal policy only (the only matter in which DC has arguable
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93 In an email to Lourie reporting the conversation, Sloman reported that he told the squad supervisor that “it’s a tad more complicated” and commented, “The guy is killing me.” The squad supervisor told OPR that he did not remember this exchange with Sloman, but he recalled the agents being “upset” with the proposed resolution of the case and he likely would have told Sloman, “When do we indict? Why don’t we just move forward?”
93 In an email to Lourie reporting the conversation, Sloman reported that he told the squad supervisor that “it’s a tad more complicated” and commented, “The guy is killing me.” The squad supervisor told OPR that he did not remember this exchange with Sloman, but he recalled the agents being “upset” with the proposed resolution of the case and he likely would have told Sloman, “When do we indict? Why don’t we just move forward?”
94 Acosta told OPR that as a junior associate with Kirkland & Ellis from September 1995 to March 1997, he had worked on at least one matter each with Starr and Lefkowitz, and since that time, he had professional acquaintanceships with both.
95 Menchel told OPR that he did not remember the timing of the call, but he did remember an occasion on which he entered Acosta’s office as Acosta was finishing a phone conversation, and Acosta stated, “[T]hat was Ken Starr,” and told Menchel the call related to the Epstein case.
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