The plea deal allowed Jeffrey Epstein to pursue and sexually abuse more minors until New York prosecutors arrested him in 2019 and charged him with sexual trafficking.
In Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach Mansion
A 2005 video drill of Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach Building filmed by the Palm Beach Police Department.
Palm Beach Post
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna insists that former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta can still testify in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
- Acosta, who is in charge of the controversial 2008 Epstein plea agreement, is currently not on the witness list.
Florida Republicans serving on the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Commission insist that they can still “call testify” on Capitol Hill in a Jeffrey Epstein prosecution scandal.
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who represents the St. Petersburg region, said the fact that former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta is currently not on the group witness list does not rule out him.
“This hasn’t taken Alex Acosta off the table,” Luna, one of three Floridians on the high-profile congressional committee, said in a statement emailed to the Palm Beach Post. “At any time, he can be asked to testify.”
Two other men, Republican Byron Donalds and Orlando Democrat Maxwell Frost, did not respond to the Post’s questions.
What is Alex Acosta’s role in Jeffrey Epstein’s prosecution?
Although he is a U.S. attorney in South Florida, Acosta helped draft and approve what Epstein called the “deal of the century.” The serial fairy tale abuser was allowed to plead guilty to only two prostitution-related offenders in state court and was sentenced to 18 months at the Palm Beach County Jail. He only served for 13 months.
At the time, Palm Beach Police Investigators had identified dozens of victims who claimed they had been sexually abused by financiers. Police Chief Michael Reiter introduced the FBI in 2006 because he was concerned about the way the state investigated.
The federal grand jury drafted 60 charges against Epstein as federal prosecutor and then-Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer agreed to allow Epstein to plead guilty to two charges of prostitution in the state court.
Palm Beach financiers could have met decades of local and federal prosecutors in prison, most prominently Acosta, who completely prosecuted Epstein.
Instead, victims, legal experts and critics of plea agreements said Epstein was able to pursue and abuse more minors until 2019 New York prosecutors arrested and charged him with sexual trafficking. Epstein died in a prison cell at the time, and released by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 7, authorities said in New York.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Acosta served as dean of the School of Law of Florida International University in Miami. He then joined President Donald Trump as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, but Acosta resigned from the position because of his role in the prosecution of vulnerable Epstein.
Although Acosta won Epstein's central role 17 years ago, Acosta is not one of six former U.S. attorney generals and two former FBI directors on the House Committee's subpoena.
The candidate, at the time, Acosta’s superior was former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, even though Gonzalez’s name was not cited in the 347-page report on how federal prosecutors handled Epstein Probe in 2006-08. Although Acosta made the case for “poor judgment”, no one was found to have committed professional misconduct.
Last September, Gonzales wrote an opinion piece that he called Trump “the most serious threat to the rule of law by a generation” and publicly stated that he would join his Republican compatriots in 2024 presidential elections.
What does Anna Paulina Luna say about Jeffrey Epstein's case?
Luna proposed legislation this year to place Trump on the Mount Rushmore monument, calling for transparency in the Epstein case in a speech at a U.S. turnaround party in Tampa, USA in July.
In that appearance, Luna condemned her work on a task force, saying she investigated some of the most “terrifying” crimes in American history, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy. She said the group’s work led to the release of the CIA and other documents, which Luna claimed to prove that the spy agency covered up its role in the presidential murder.
“This transparent pattern in Kennedy's record decryption is actually something they should do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Luna said.
She also said: “If you are granted power or a position on the platform and you are not against injustice, then you are accomplices, just like injustice that happens.”
In a statement to the Post, Luna said she didn't know why Acosta's name was not among colleagues, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-pennsylvania, when a supervising subcommittee voted on the subpoenas.
Antonio Fins is the political and business editor for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Florida Today network. You can contact him at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe now.