EFTA00014372.pdf

92.2 KB

Extraction Summary

4
People
4
Organizations
1
Locations
1
Events
2
Relationships
5
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Email chain / internal correspondence
File Size: 92.2 KB
Summary

Internal email chain from the US Attorney's Office (SDNY) dated August 21, 2019, reacting to a press statement released by Governor Bill Richardson's lawyer, Jeff Brown. The prosecutor expresses frustration, noting that while they told Brown that Richardson was not currently a target or subject due to lack of information, they did not state there were no allegations against him, contrary to Brown's public statement implying exoneration. The prosecutor notes they re-contacted Brown to dispute the accuracy of the statement.

People (4)

Name Role Context
Bill Richardson Governor / Subject of discussion
Issued a statement regarding his status in the Epstein investigation.
Jeff Brown Attorney
Lawyer for Bill Richardson, partner at Dechert LLP. Spoke with US Attorney's office.
Jeffrey Epstein Subject of investigation
Mentioned as the primary subject of the case.
Jeff Attorney
Likely refers to Jeff Brown; spoke to the email sender on Sunday regarding Richardson's status.

Organizations (4)

Name Type Context
USANYS
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)
Dechert LLP
Law firm representing Bill Richardson
United States Department of Justice
Parent agency
Public Affairs
Department handling press inquiries

Timeline (1 events)

2019-08-21
Bill Richardson's legal team releases a statement claiming he is not a target, subject, or witness in the Epstein case, prompting internal DOJ concern over accuracy.
New York
Bill Richardson Jeff Brown US Attorney's Office

Locations (1)

Location Context
Jurisdiction of the investigation

Relationships (2)

Jeff Brown Attorney-Client Bill Richardson
Governor Bill Richardson offered his assistance... through his lawyer, Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown Professional/Adversarial Redacted Prosecutor
Prosecutor spoke to Jeff Brown to clarify Richardson's status; Prosecutor disputes Brown's characterization of the call.

Key Quotes (5)

"This is so, so frustrating."
Source
EFTA00014372.pdf
Quote #1
"I did talk to Jeff on Sunday and did (what I thought was) a fairly standard witness / subject / target distinction"
Source
EFTA00014372.pdf
Quote #2
"I noted the three categories and said we didn't have enough information for witness or target."
Source
EFTA00014372.pdf
Quote #3
"I think my intended point was conveyed, which was that we weren't currently asking for anything from him—not that there are no allegations at all, which obviously there are, publicly."
Source
EFTA00014372.pdf
Quote #4
"Governor Richardson is neither a target, subject, nor witness in the case and that there is no allegation against Governor Richardson that the government is actively investigating."
Source
EFTA00014372.pdf
Quote #5

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (3,611 characters)

From: [Redacted] )" <[Redacted]>
To: "[Redacted] (USANYE)" <[Redacted]>
Subject: FW: Richardson
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 17:09:32 +0000
Embedded: t_c_with_counsel_for_Bill_Richardson,_re:_JE_case.msg
This is so, so frustrating.
From: [Redacted] )
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2019 13:09
To: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] ) <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] ) <[Redacted]>
Cc: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Subject: RE: Richardson
Hey I spoke to [Redacted] and [Redacted] about this, but just to keep everyone in the loop, I did talk to Jeff on Sunday and did (what I thought was) a fairly standard witness / subject / target distinction, noting we didn't have sufficient information to put him into the witness or target boxes, and that we didn't currently intend to subpoena him or request to speak with him based on the investigation at this time. So I didn't specifically say he was a subject, but I noted the three categories and said we didn't have enough information for witness or target. I also said that there weren't specific allegations that we need to hear his side of at this time, and I think my intended point was conveyed, which was that we weren't currently asking for anything from him—not that there are no allegations at all, which obviously there are, publicly. I did not say that there is no allegation that the government is actively investigating; I just would never say to an attorney what we are or aren't investigating. In any event, my contemporaneous notes are attached, I typed and sent them less than ten minutes after our conversation, which lasted all of four minutes. I'm really sorry for any difficulties this causes us.
After talking with [Redacted] about it, I also just spoke to Jeff and expressed my view that the statement does not fully accurately reflect our conversation, and that our press office could respond to questions about it or he could clarify, and he said he would get back to me with how he proposed to address the discrepancies.
From: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2019 12:05
To: [Redacted] ) <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] ) <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] ) <[Redacted]>
Cc: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Subject: FW: Richardson
Has anyone talked to Jeff Brown and is this accurate?
From: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2019 12:01 PM
To: [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Cc: [Redacted] (USANYS) [Contractor] <[Redacted]>; [Redacted] (USANYS) <[Redacted]>
Subject: Richardson
Richardson has given the following statement to the press, true and accurate?:
[Page 2]
Governor Bill Richardson offered his assistance in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation - through his lawyer, Jeff Brown of Dechert LLP - to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In response to this offer, Mr. Brown was informed by the Assistant US Attorney responsible for the case that Governor Richardson is neither a target, subject, nor witness in the case and that there is no allegation against Governor Richardson that the government is actively investigating.
"It's fair to conclude that the federal prosecutors investigating this matter do not believe the Governor participated in or witnessed the criminal activity Jeffrey Epstein is alleged to have committed," said Mr. Brown.
Governor Richardson hopes that the investigation continues so that Epstein's victims can finally have their day in court and see the justice they deserve.
[Redacted]
Public Affairs
United States Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney's Office | Southern District of New York
EFTA00014373

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