Department of Justice¶
EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT CONTROL SHEET¶
DATE OF DOCUMENT: 2/25/2019¶
DATE RECEIVED: 2/28/2019¶
| WORKFLOW ID: | 4212486 |
| DUE DATE: | 3/15/2019 |
| FROM: | The Honorable Ben Sasse* United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 |
TO: AG¶
MAIL TYPE: Congressional Priority¶
| SUBJECT: | (Rec'd from OLA via email) Ltr from Chmn Sasse, Subcomte on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts, congratulating the AG on his confirmation and following-up on recent developments on a matter raised during the confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Comte. Stating on 11/28/2018, The Miami Herald published the results of a lengthy investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. Mentions on 02/21/2019,a federal court issued a ruling in a civil suit brought against the federal government by two of Epstein's victim, holding that DOJ did indeed"conceal the existence of the [non-prosecution agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility"在 violation of the Crime Victims' Right Act. Urging DOJ to reopen its non-prosecution agreement so that Epstein and anyone else who abused these children are held accountable.See WFs 4167042 & 4167070. |
| DATE ASSIGNED | ACTION COMPONENT & ACTION REQUESTED |
| 03/01/2019 | EOUSA
Prepare response for AAG/OLA signature. |
INFO COMPONENT: OAG, ODAG, CRM, FBI, OLA, OPR¶
COMMENTS: 03/01/2019: Per OLA, assign to EOUSA.¶
FILE CODE:¶
EXECSEC POC:¶
EFTA00175147¶
BEN SASSE NEBRASKA¶
COMMITTEES:¶
ARMED SERVICES¶
JUDICIARY¶
BANKING¶
United States Senate¶
WASHINGTON, DC 20510¶
February 25, 2019¶
The Honorable William P. Barr Attorney General of the United States 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington, D.C. 20530¶
Dear General Barr,¶
Congratulations on your recent confirmation. I write to you today in regard to recent developments on a matter I raised with you during your hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.¶
On November 28, The Miami Herald published the results of a lengthy investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a wealthy hedge-fund manager, “assembl[ed] a large, cult-like network of underage girls — with the help of young female recruiters — to coerce into having sex acts behind the walls of his opulent waterfront mansion as often as three times a day” $ ^{1} $ and “was also suspected of trafficking minor girls, often from overseas, for sex parties at his other homes in Manhattan, New Mexico and the Caribbean.” $ ^{2} $ According to The Miami Herald:¶
Facing a 53-page federal indictment, Epstein could have ended up in federal prison for the rest of his life. But … a deal was struck — an extraordinary plea agreement that would conceal the full extent of Epstein’s crimes and the number of people involved. Not only would Epstein serve just 13 months in the county jail, but the deal … essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein’s sex crimes, according to a Miami Herald examination of thousands of emails, court documents and FBI records. The pact required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in state court. Epstein and four of his accomplices named in the agreement received immunity from all federal criminal charges. But even more unusual, the deal included wording that granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators” who were also involved in Epstein’s crimes… . As part of the arrangement, [the Department of Justice] agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims. $^3$¶
On February 21, a federal court issued a ruling in a civil suit brought against the federal government by two of Epstein’s victims, holding that the Justice Department did indeed “conceal¶
1 Julie K. Brown, How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime, MIAMI HERALD, Nov. 28, 2018, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html. 2 Id. 3 Id.¶
KEARNEY OFFICE¶
LINCOLN OFFICE¶
OMAHA OFFICE¶
SCOTTSBLUFF OFFICE¶
WASHINGTON DC OFFICE¶
EFTA00175148¶
the existence of the [non-prosecution agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility”4 in violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. I am relieved that the court agrees that it was wrong to hide this child rapist’s pathetically soft deal from his victims in violation of federal law. The fact that it has taken this long to get this far is heartbreaking and infuriating.¶
In its order, the court instructed “[t]he parties [to] confer and inform the[c]ourt within 15 days … how they wish to proceed on determining the issue of what remedy, if any, should be applied in view of the violation.” The court specifically noted that it had “previously held” that “the CVRA authorizes the rescission or ‘reopening’ of a prosecutorial agreement, including a non-prosecution agreement, reached in violation of a prosecutor’s conferral obligations under the statute.” I write to you today to urge you to do just that. The Department of Justice should use this opportunity to reopen its non-prosecution agreement so that Epstein and anyone else who abused these children are held accountable.¶
Sincerely,¶
Ben Sasse¶
United States Senator¶
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts¶
4 Doe v. United States, No. 08-80736-CIV-MARRA, slip op. at 27–28, 33 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 21, 2019).¶
5 Id. at 33.¶
6 Id. at 26.¶
2¶