HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021732.jpg
2.7 MB
Extraction Summary
9
People
7
Organizations
2
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
News article / media report (contained within house oversight committee files)
File Size:
2.7 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a news article included in House Oversight Committee files (HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021732). It details the scrutiny facing then-Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and prosecutor A. Marie Villafaña regarding the non-prosecution agreement (plea deal) given to Jeffrey Epstein. The text highlights a federal judge's ruling that the prosecutors violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by concealing the deal from victims, and mentions a DOJ probe into potential professional misconduct.
People (9)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| A. Marie Villafaña | Lead federal prosecutor |
Prosecutor in the Epstein case; criticized for handling of the plea bargain; subject of misconduct probe.
|
| Jeffrey Epstein | Defendant / Sex Offender |
Multimillionaire money manager who abused teenage girls; received plea bargain.
|
| Alexander Acosta | Former U.S. Attorney / U.S. Secretary of Labor |
Negotiated Epstein plea deal; facing scrutiny for oversight of the case.
|
| Kenneth A. Marra | U.S. District Court Judge |
Ruled that the plea 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 of the United States |
Mentioned regarding his confidence level in Acosta.
|
| Francey Hakes | Former DOJ Official |
Worked in Crimes Against Children unit; commented on the severity of the allegations against prosecutors.
|
| Zloch | Judge (implied) |
Referenced for making 'brutal' comments that should have deterred prosecutors.
|
| Jonathan Biran | Defense Lawyer |
Lawyer representing A. Marie Villafaña.
|
Timeline (3 events)
January (relative to publication)
Justice Department launched a probe into professional misconduct by prosecutors.
Washington D.C.
Acosta
Villafaña
DOJ
Last month (relative to publication)
Federal judge ruled the plea deal violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
U.S. District Court
Prior to Epstein agreement
Acosta and Villafaña warned about importance of victim disclosure.
Unknown
Acosta
Villafaña
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
Relationships (2)
Acosta and Villafaña put together a plea bargain for Epstein
But her lawyer, Jonathan Biran, said she has worked tirelessly
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
"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
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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
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021732
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