The sordid, serious Epstein case

Jeffrey Epstein is a billionaire financier, a pal to the global elite, and a registered sex offender who has long been accused of molesting and assaulting dozens of underage girls. The original case against Epstein was prosecuted by Alexander Acosta, then a federal prosecutor and now President Trump’s labor secretary, in Florida in 2007 and 2008. Epstein was facing charges that could have put him in prison for life. Instead he received a highly lenient plea deal that allowed him to avoid both federal criminal charges and state prison time.

The deal — which was kept secret from Epstein’s victims so they could not object, an apparent violation of federal law — was thoroughly examined in an investigation by the Miami Herald in November. According to the Herald’s exhaustive investigation, Acosta worked with Epstein’s lawyers — a highpowered bunch that included famed constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz and former Clinton independent counsel Kenneth Starr — to craft a deal that was acceptable to Epstein.

Now it appears Epstein’s time is finally up.

On Monday he appeared in federal court to face new charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy. The indictment accuses Epstein, who is 66, of engaging in sex acts with dozens of minors as young as 14, and of creating a vast underground network of underage victims for him to exploit in the many different locales he calls home. Investigators have already seized hundreds of nude photographs of underage girls from his Manhattan townhouse.

Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, has made it clear that his office isn’t bound by Epstein’s 2008 agreement. This suggests that Epstein won’t be getting off easily this time.

Meanwhile, the fact that the new case is being handled by the Southern District of New York’s public corruption unit suggests that Epstein may not be the only one eventually facing trial.

The New York case could lead to charges against those who helped Epstein find girls to abuse. Victims have also accused Epstein of loaning them out to have sex with his powerful friends.

The sexual abuse details are ghastly, sordid and deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The fact that this case is finally being treated with the seriousness it deserves is due in no small part to the work of the Miami Herald and Julie Brown, the investigative reporter who chased down the story.

But the horrific sexual abuse charges may only be the tip of the iceberg, and prosecutors shouldn’t hesitate to follow this case wherever it takes them.

Certainly Acosta’s role in Epstein’s Florida plea deal should certainly be up for scrutiny.

One of the outstanding mysteries from Epstein’s Florida case is whether his role as a federal witness in another case — the criminal prosecution of two Bear Stearns executives for corporate securities fraud — played any part in his plea negotiations.

The presence of the public corruption unit implies investigations into possible charges — for Epstein or others — for things like corruption, money laundering, or tax fraud.

Epstein may seek to secure a better deal for himself by providing information about the crimes of his powerful friends. He’s unlikely to get a slap on the wrist for a second time, but he does have friends who range from former President Bill Clinton to current President Donald Trump. If anyone in Epstein’s circle committed a crime, we’re about to find out about it.

Thanks to his wealth and power, Epstein was able to avoid accountability for far too long.

Now his downfall may result in the downfall of those who enabled him. Justice may be delayed, but it should never be denied.