Epstein’s lawyers seek $77 million bail
Sex trafficking charges ‘illegal,’ defense argues
NEW YORK – Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein argued Thursday that the wealthy financier should be freed on a bail package as high as $77 million and other restrictions while he awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking involving young girls.
Epstein, who is locked in the Manhattan Correctional Center, should be freed because his only criminal brush with the law was a nonprosecution agreement reached with federal prosecutors in 2008 for conduct “substantially overlapping” the indictment unsealed against him in New York on Monday, his lawyers argued.
The man who once counted President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew among his friends is accused of sexually trafficking girls as young as 14 at his mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and home in Palm Beach, Florida, from 2002 to 2005. He pleaded not guilty Monday.
“The government’s indictment labels this a ‘Sex Trafficking’ case. Yes, the government may have witnesses who will testify to participating in sexual massages – most over 18; some under; some who told the police they lied about their age to gain admission to Mr. Epstein’s residence; some who will testify that Mr. Epstein knew they were not yet 18,” defense lawyers Reid Weingarten and Martin Weinberg wrote in a pretrial release proposal filed in Manhattan federal court.
Epstein plans to contest the charges and poses no threat to flee or danger to the community while he does, the attorneys argued.
They outlined a series of “highly restrictive” conditions to secure his release and ensure that he appears for trial, among them home detention in his Manhattan townhouse under electronic monitoring, along with a personal recognizance bond secured by a mortgage on the home, which is valued at roughly $77 million. They offered a pledge of Epstein’s private jet as additional collateral, plus a proposal to de-register or ground the aircraft.
Manhattan federal prosecutors are scheduled to file separate bail arguments Friday. They have argued that Epstein should remain behind bars pending trial because he has a home in France, in addition to residences in Manhattan; Palm Beach, Florida; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They argued that his wealth and the magnitude of the charges against him make Epstein a flight risk.
The defense team argued that the New York federal indictment should never have been pursued because Epstein was already investigated, prosecuted, then punished by the federal nonprosecution agreement in Florida.
Epstein has complied with the terms of the nonprosecution agreement, registering as a sex offender and fulfilling other conditions, the lawyers said.
“What is significant for bail purposes is that notwithstanding this notice of the government’s illegal position, and his knowledge of the substantial penalties that he would face if charged and convicted, Mr. Epstein made no attempt to flee in the approximately six years preceding his arrest,” the lawyers wrote. “During that time, as noted by the government, he engaged in substantial international travel, always returning to his residences in the United States.”
Announcing the New York indictment Monday, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said the nonprosecution agreement that Florida federal prosecutors reached with Epstein was not binding on federal prosecutors in New York.
The legal interpretation cited by Berman “will be the subject of a major dispute in this case,” the defense team said.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman is set to hear oral arguments on the bail dispute in a hearing Monday.