DOJ-OGR-00021276.jpg
693 KB
Extraction Summary
6
People
3
Organizations
1
Locations
1
Events
3
Relationships
5
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Government report / legal filing (opr report excerpt)
File Size:
693 KB
Summary
This document is an excerpt from a report (likely OPR) detailing internal communications on September 19, 2007, between prosecutors Villafaña, Lourie, and U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta regarding plea negotiations with Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer, Jay Lefkowitz. While Villafaña and Lourie strongly recommended ending negotiations due to what they perceived as the defense's "bad faith" tactics of re-inserting rejected provisions, Acosta instructed them to continue trying to "work it out" rather than indict immediately. The page ends mid-sentence with Villafaña expressing concern about "caving" to the defense.
People (6)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Marie Villafaña | Prosecutor / USAO Staff |
Expressed frustration with defense tactics; recommended ending negotiations.
|
| Lourie | Supervisor / USAO Staff |
Agreed with Villafaña initially to reject counter offer, but followed Acosta's order to continue working it out.
|
| Alexander Acosta | US Attorney (implied) |
Urged his team to continue negotiations despite defense tactics; gave instructions to call defense counsel.
|
| Jay Lefkowitz | Defense Counsel |
Sent a draft agreement that the prosecution felt was in bad faith; accused of agreeing orally then sending opposite t...
|
| Alex | Reference |
Refers to Alexander Acosta.
|
| West Palm Beach manager | USAO Staff |
Recipient of emails regarding the plea agreement (both incoming and successor mentioned).
|
Organizations (3)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| USAO |
United States Attorney's Office (implied by context of prosecutors and plea deals).
|
|
| OPR |
Office of Professional Responsibility; Acosta explained his reasoning to them.
|
|
| Defense team |
Lawyers representing the defendant (Epstein, implied).
|
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of the manager mentioned in the correspondence.
|
Relationships (3)
Acosta gives instructions to Lourie; Lourie reports to Acosta.
Villafaña expresses frustration to supervisors (Lourie).
Opposing counsel in plea negotiations.
Key Quotes (5)
"This is NOT good faith negotiations."Source
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Quote #1
"He claims to orally agree to our terms and then sends us a document that is the opposite."Source
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Quote #2
"Why don’t we just call him. Tell him... That’s not acceptable, and is in bad faith. Stop it or we’ll indict... Try to work it out."Source
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Quote #3
"It seems that we are close, and it[’]s worth trying to overcome what has to be painfully . . . annoying negotiating tactics."Source
DOJ-OGR-00021276.jpg
Quote #4
"I know that you keep saying he is going to plead, and he will plead if we cave on"Source
DOJ-OGR-00021276.jpg
Quote #5
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,387 characters)
Case 22-1426, Document 77, 06/29/2023, 3536038, Page104 of 258
SA-102
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 102 of 348
SA-102
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 102 of 348
G. Villafaña and Lourie Recommend Ending Negotiations, but Acosta Urges That They "Try to Work It Out"
In the late afternoon of Wednesday, September 19, 2007, Villafaña expressed her increasing frustration to her supervisors. She emailed the defense redline version of the plea agreement to Lourie and the incoming West Palm Beach manager, identifying all of the provisions she had "specifically discussed with [the defense team] and rejected, that they have re-inserted into the agreement." (Emphasis in original). Villafaña opined, "This is NOT good faith negotiations." Lourie responded that he would "reach out to Alex to discuss."
Lourie immediately emailed Acosta the following:
I looked at the latest draft from Jay [Lefkowitz] and I must agree with Marie. Based on my own conversations with him, his draft is out of left field. He claims to orally agree to our terms and then sends us a document that is the opposite. I suggest we simply tell him that his counter offer is rejected and that we intend to move forward with our case.
Acosta replied:
Why don’t we just call him. Tell him
1. You agree, and then change things.
2. That’s not acceptable, and is in bad faith. Stop it or we’ll indict.
3. Try to work it out.
It seems that we are close, and it[’]s worth trying to overcome what has to be painfully . . . annoying negotiating tactics.
Acosta explained to OPR that he recognized,
[t]his negotiation was a pain, but if it was the right position, the fact that you’ve got annoying counsel on the other side doesn’t it make it less of a right position. You tell them stop being annoying, you try to work it out, and if not, then you indict.
In response to Acosta’s instruction, Lourie responded, "Ok will do." He also forwarded to Acosta the latest version of the USAO draft "hybrid" plea agreement that Villafaña had sent to Lefkowitz the previous day, which Lourie had requested and obtained from Villafaña earlier that afternoon.
Meanwhile, Villafaña sent to Lourie and his successor West Palm Beach manager a draft message she proposed to send to Lefkowitz with her objections to the defense revisions, explaining, "I know that you keep saying he is going to plead, and he will plead if we cave on
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DOJ-OGR-00021276
DOJ-OGR-00021276
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