WEBVTT - A Jeffrey Epstein Money Probe Stayed Hidden for 17 Years. We Found It. 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.920 So Matt, I've been up since three am waiting for this. 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.160 Story to drop. Better be a big one. 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:09.560 It's huge, huge. This week we've got a special episode 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:13.400 of Disclosure. Let's go, Let's go, Let's go. I'm investigative 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:16.480 journalist Jason Leopold. I spend most of my days getting 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:17.599 documents from the government. 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:19.799 I'm attorney Matt Tappik, and I fight them in court 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:21.400 to open their files when they don't want to. 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.680 From Bloomberg and no smiling. This is Disclosure, a podcast 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:30.319 about prying loose government secrets, the Freedom of Information Act, 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:37.519 and the unexpected places that takes us. Cool shirt Jason 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:43.120 Horror Business by the Misfits. This is my annual Halloween shirt. 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:47.920 We are recording this on Friday, October thirty first, my 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:50.040 favorite day of the year. Halloeen. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:54.440 I swear this is the coincidence I have on my 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.440 annual Halloween original Misfits hoodie that I bring out every 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.360 Halloween as I'm giving out candy to the local kids 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.560 with the soundtrack of like Slayer and Decide and you 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.840 know a bunch of like thrashing. Oh man, you threw 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.920 in da side. So where you've been, you've been quiet? 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:10.320 This week. 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:13.160 Well, Matt, I've been working on a story at Jeffrey 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:15.880 Epstein's story. By the looks of it, Yes, Matt, that 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.800 is correct. There's a breakthrough in the Jeffrey Epstein case. 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.480 Today Bloomberg is reporting this revelation. 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:25.520 The scope of the investigation to Epstein may have been 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:28.039 actually much larger than we previously knew. 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:32.000 Congressman Robert Garcia, the ranking member on House Oversight, shared his. 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.039 Alarm and this is a huge problem. Part of the 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.400 investigation is incredibly troubling. 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:38.560 You know, Jeffrey Epstein has been in the news a 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.720 lot this year. Epstein, of course, is the wealthy and 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:45.880 connected financier who is convicted of sex trafficking miners before 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.279 his death and detention in twenty nineteen. So the news 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:51.720 cranked up in the past year again when Donald Trump, 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.520 on the campaign trail said that if he were elected, 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:58.840 he put out the full files that the government has 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:04.279 on Epstein. However, in July, the Trump administration backtracked, saying 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:08.600 that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted. 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:10.399 Uh oh, how did that go over? 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.600 Well, it's left a lot of unanswered questions about Epstein 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.720 that go back almost twenty years to the first Epstein 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.959 investigation we know about. That was the federal probe into 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:23.600 allegations that he solicited sex with minors. A lot of 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.600 the Epstein controversy dates back to that investigation and the 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.200 deal that federal prosecutors struck. That deal led Epstein to 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:35.239 plead guilty to lesser state charges in Florida and effectively 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.360 shielded co conspirators from prosecution, and it left his accusers 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:41.919 in the dark about the deal the Feds were striking. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.560 The outcome has been widely derided as far too lenient, 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.440 and it let Epstein return pretty quickly to a social 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:52.600 circles that also included a lot of well known, wealthy 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:53.440 people like. 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.720 Say, Prince Andrew. Well, Matt, it's just Andrew. 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:00.840 Now Prince Andrew will no longer be a prince, something 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.399 that has not happened in more than a century. King 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:06.360 Charles stripping his brother of all his titles over his 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:09.359 ties to the late convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.480 Okay, so there's a lot out about Epstein, and yet 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.639 you found something pretty big. 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.359 Oh yeah, I definitely found something pretty big, Matt. I 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.760 found out about a whole other line of federal investigation 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.840 to Epstein that hasn't been reported ever. Nont allegations about 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:29.160 sex trafficking or sex with minors, but something else, entirely 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.359 money laundering. Wait what let me tell you, Matt, this 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.840 really does change a lot about how we look at 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.640 the whole Epstein affair. There's still big questions about his money, 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.680 how a college dropout turned financial advisor built his fortune 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.200 in the first place, And since you have found dead 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:49.200 in his cell in twenty nineteen, those questions have only 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:53.320 grown this summer. Senator Ron Wyden, he's a top Democrat 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.960 on the Senate Finance Committee, stoke that fire. 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.440 Now somewhere in the Treasury Department, mister President, locked away 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.880 in a cab a drawer, is a big Epstein file. 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:06.600 Wyden said. His panel reviewed records compiled by the Treasury's 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:10.600 Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FINN, said, and 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:14.880 those records revealed that major banks processed more than one 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.880 point five billion in suspicious transactions. 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:20.359 That's billion with a B. 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.400 Yeah, one point five billion that Epstein allegedly used to 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:29.240 traffic women or in suspicious transactions that looked a lot 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:30.159 like money laundering. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.960 Four seven hundred and twenty five Wire transfers flowing in 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.400 and out of just one of mister Epstein's bank accounts. 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:43.240 That is more than four thousand potential lines of investigation. 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.880 So my new story, Matt, shows that almost twenty years ago, 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:52.200 federal prosecutors were going down a similar path following Epstein's 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.400 money until they just stopped. 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:57.080 Okay, tell me where does this start? 0:04:57.920 --> 0:04:58.040 All? 0:04:58.120 --> 0:04:58.360 Right? 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:00.960 So I've been learning quite a bit about Jeffrey Epstein 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:03.560 these past few months because I've been going through a 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:09.400 trove of emails eighteen thousand emails from Epstein's private Yahoo 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:14.360 email account obtained by Bloomberg. And these emails show Epstein, 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:19.680 in his own words, they've never been released before. They 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:24.320 detail a methodical and callous approach he took to recruiting 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.520 young women, his close partnership with Glain Maxwell, and the 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:33.920 support he received from an array of high powered associates, attorneys, academics, bankers. 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:36.200 So when is he writing all these emails? 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:40.760 These emails from Epstein's inbox span a twenty year timeframe. 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:41.200 Wow. 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:45.720 But the message traffic was most active between like two 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.719 thousand and five and two thousand and eight, which is 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:52.360 critical because that happens to be a pivotal period for Epstein. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:56.040 That was the period when he came under scrutiny by 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:59.680 Florida officials. And it's when the Palm Beach Police Department 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:04.400 and a criminal investigation into a local man that teenage 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:09.280 girls refer to simply as Jeff. So this first investigation 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:13.200 into allegations relating to sex with minors started locally, but 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.919 then about a year later, in two thousand and six, 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:19.800 in came federal prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida. 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.640 So how do you know what the feds we're looking into? 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:25.160 Do you have documents from their investigation? 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.800 For the most part, No, I don't. What I have though, 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:32.600 are Epstein's emails, So I'm not seeing the investigation itself, 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:35.600 just how Epstein and his lawyers reacted and shaped their 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.800 legal strategy. From the start, he cast this whole thing 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.039 as an unfair probe into him, despite that it focused 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.839 on his involvement with underage girls, which by then investigators 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:47.120 had known about for years. 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.480 So did you get these records through foya? 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:51.680 No, Matt, I have other ways of getting records. 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.640 Could you foya the DOJ and ask for the prosecutor's records? 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.000 Yeah? You could, and in fact, a lot of people 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:03.680 have FOYA DOJ, FBI and even some other agencies for 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.760 Epstein's records, which are the records that make up the 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:11.760 Epstein files. And in fact, way back in twenty seventeen, 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:15.440 Radar Magazine had filed a Fouer request with the FBI 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.600 for Jeffrey Epstein related records and they got about one 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:21.880 thousand pages released, but it took them suing the FBI 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.280 to get those records, and the bureau withheld thousands of 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:30.240 other pages. That lawsuit is still pending, it's still happening 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:35.120 right now, and so it's happening alongside the pressure that's 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.840 coming on the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.960 So there is active foil litigation. There's still a bunch 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.680 of Fouyer requests that have been filed for Epstein records. 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.480 So we may be learning more through some government records 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:52.080 later on possibly. Okay, So where does the money laundering 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:53.240 investigation come in? 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.960 Okay? So, documents in Epstein's inbox show that in November 0:07:57.000 --> 0:08:00.000 of two thousand and six, prosecutors issued us a pace 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:04.440 for Epstein's personal income tax returns for the previous two years. 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:08.520 Then in February two thousand and seven, a money laundering 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.720 probe was opened, and around the same time, prosecutors focused 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:16.400 on a pattern of transactions in which Epstein directed some 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.240 of his employees to withdraw large amounts of cash to 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.400 disperse to women around the world he exploited, and that 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:25.960 was the basis for a potential charge of operating an 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:30.800 unlicensed money transmitting business. So these emails show Matt that 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:34.120 the lead federal prosecutor on this case requested that a 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:38.920 grand jury issue subpoenas for every financial transaction conducted by 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.520 Epstein and his six businesses dating to two thousand and three. 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.520 And I also reported that prosecutors sent subpoenas to some 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:47.360 major banks. 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:51.480 And so, according to the emails, when Jeffrey Epstein learned 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:55.719 that the investigation had been broadened into financial crimes, how 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:56.839 did he take that? Oh? 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:02.079 He was furious, in part because the prosecutor contacted one 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:07.560 of his longtime wealth management clients, Les Wexner. Les Wexner 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:12.199 is the billionaire businessman behind Victoria's Secret and Bath and 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:17.240 body Works, and Epstein's emails showed that not long after 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:22.160 the prosecutor's conversation with Wexner, Wexner then took steps to 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:24.760 end Epstein's role as his wealth manager. 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:28.520 I'm guessing that didn't go over too well with Epstein. 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:29.480 So what did he do? 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:34.040 Epstein pulled in some high powered lawyers, including Harvard law 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:38.240 professor Alan Dershowitz and former independent counsel Ken Starr, and 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:43.320 the lawyers launched an aggressive campaign to discredit the federal 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:47.640 prosecutor's attempts to follow the money and pressure higher ups 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:50.920 to remove the prosecutor and others from the case or 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:57.160 scuttle it entirely. Dershowitz told Bloomberg that he does not 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:01.600 recall any involvement in the discussions related to allegations of 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:05.600 money laundering, and ken Starr died in twenty twenty two. 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.240 Now that's interesting, Jason, because listeners on this pot are 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.520 going to hear a lot about the fact that when 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:15.280 famous people die, you can foia the FBI and see 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.520 what files there are, which you normally can't get while 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.880 they're alive because it's considered an invasion of privacy, But 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.319 once they've died you can get records. 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.959 Which you know very well is my knee jerk reaction. 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:27.439 Whenever someone prominent dies. 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.600 I usually find out about famous people dying when I 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:33.200 get a text from Jason about his foyer requests before 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:34.840 I've even seen it in the news. And so I 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.640 took a look on the FBI vault. That's where they 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.560 post records that are frequently requested if they've been requested 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.760 multiple times, and sure enough, there are hundreds of Ken 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.760 Starr pages. All right, let's get back to this story here. 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:51.880 So who is the federal prosecutor that's issuing these subpoenas 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:53.600 and talking to Epstein's client. 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:57.280 So the lead prosecutor here was an assistant US attorney 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.920 for the Southern District of Florida. Her name is Marie 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.400 Villa Fania. She left that office in twenty twenty three, 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:08.480 and she declined to comment on the story. But we 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.920 already know some things about her broader prosecution. By May 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:15.280 two thousand and seven, she had drafted a fifty three 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:19.600 page indictment and an eighty two page prosecution memo. And 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.719 we know from a Justice Department report that came out 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:26.840 in twenty twenty that Villa Fanya urged her superiors to 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:31.240 move swiftly because she believed that Epstein was continuing to 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.840 sexually abuse girls. But the report says that Villa Fanya 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:38.120 was stonewalled by senior officials at the office who saw 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:39.640 her as too aggressive. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:44.840 Interesting, So that Justice Department report from twenty twenty does 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:49.000 that mention that the Florida prosecutor was looking into financial crimes. 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:52.680 No, there's not a single mention in that report about 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:56.640 financial crimes, but we know it from Epstein's inbox. And 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.480 I also talked to a former law enforcement official who 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.400 was familiar with the case, and that person said the 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:07.920 evidence Villafani collected was serious enough that she wrote in 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:11.560 the prosecution memo that Epstein should be charged with money 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:16.000 laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. And this 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:20.120 person also said that the probe lasted eighteen months and 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.320 turned up at least tens of millions of dollars in 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:28.559 questionable financial transactions. And Matt, what is really important here 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:33.920 is that these details have never been disclosed. So everything 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:38.440 that we know about the Epstein investigation that took place 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.520 in two thousand and six through two thousand and eight, 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:45.959 for the most part, center on the sex crimes. There's 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:50.040 never been any disclosure around financial crimes. 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.520 Yeah, this is really good stuff. So that's what we 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.040 know about the indictment. It's just a draft indictment, Jason, right. 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.960 Yeah, the indictment has never been publicly released. It was 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.880 never filed with the court along with that eighty two 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.240 page prosecution memo, and to this day it remained shrouded 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:07.920 in secrecy. 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.480 So he was never indicted for the things that the 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.439 lengthy memo and draft indictment were contemplating. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.360 No. Never, Let's jump to July two thousand and seven. 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:22.679 She and another prosecutor are then directed to enter into 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.720 the negotiations with Epstein and his legal team on a 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.320 non prosecution agreement. 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:32.800 So she works up the materials towards an indictment, but 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:35.960 her superiors decide, we're not going to do that, let's 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:37.320 go negotiate a deal instead. 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.760 Well that's the implication. So the Justice Department report that 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:45.600 was released in twenty twenty that basically examined the integrity 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:50.400 of the non prosecution agreement, as well as our emails, 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:53.840 show that prosecutors wanted Epstein to plead guilty to sex 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:57.240 crimes with a minor, register as a sex offender, paid 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.480 damages to an undisclosed list of victims, and spend two 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.560 years in prison, but Epstein's lawyers rejected that, and a 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.440 month in these negotiations stalled. 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:07.720 So what happens after that? 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.840 Well, then on August sixteenth, two thousand and seven, Villafania 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.600 requested that a grand jury issue subpoenas for Epstein's financial 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:17.960 records dating back to two thousand and three. And on 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:21.440 the same day she also sent a letter informing Epstein's 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:25.760 defense attorneys that she would continue investigating his finances as 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:29.720 long as the non prosecution agreement remained unsigned. And in 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.320 the emails you can see Epstein and his lawyers are 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.840 grappling with this, so they prepare a twenty two page 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:39.920 document titled in Ree Grand Jury Investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:40.920 Hey, it's in RAY. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.640 I like to say in reere, you really because I 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.360 have no idea. Yeah, I mean that's what I usually said. 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:51.160 In ray. That's legal speak for with regard to grand 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.760 jury investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. And you can see from 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.280 the track changes that there are a lot of edits 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:01.000 here from Jee and those are at Stein's initials, and 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:04.760 there's a line in it from Villafania that says, quote, 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:08.640 in other words, if the sex offense cases resolved, the 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:12.240 office would close its investigation into other areas as well. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.200 The matter has not been and it does not appear 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:19.360 that it will be resolved, So the money laundering investigation continues, 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.800 and requests number six, seeking records of every financial transaction 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.640 conducted by Epstein and his six businesses from January first, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.680 two thousand and three to the present will not be withdrawn. 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.720 So the prosecutor is basically saying, plead did the sex 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:38.360 offense charges? Or we're continuing on with the money laundering investigation. 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.320 Well, it's hard to say for sure, but he signs 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:45.680 the non prosecution agreement on September twenty fourth, two thousand 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:49.200 and seven, one day before Villafania says she was prepared 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:52.400 to indict him, and he would ultimately agree to plead 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:56.560 guilty to two sex charges, state level charges, not federal charges. 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.520 And that's what led to all these criticisms. The deal 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:02.080 was way too easy. 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.320 On it in part yes and the fact that it 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.560 later came out the women who had accused Epstein didn't 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:09.440 know the Feds were making this deal. 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:14.000 So Epstein agrees to the deal, the money laundering investigation goes. 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:17.440 Away, and that's that not exactly. I'll tell you what 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:26.280 happens after the break. So it's September two thousand and seven. 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.480 Epstein has just agreed to admit sex charges as part 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:34.080 of this non prosecution agreement. But according to the Epstein 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:38.360 emails we obtained, the federal investigation and the money laundering 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:43.360 probe didn't end there. The prosecutor, Marie Villafana, she kept 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:47.760 both the sex crimes and financial crimes investigations open as 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.720 she began working with Epstein's attorneys to reach an agreement 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:56.000 on certain terms of the plea deal, and Epstein was incensed. 0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:00.840 He and his attorneys immediately took steps to back out 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.520 of the agreement he'd sign, and on October fifteenth, two 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.320 thousand and seven, Epstein sends himself an email and attached 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.560 a word document he wrote titled did you know that. 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:13.679 I see some of that in the story? So what 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:14.359 does it say? 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.399 Okay? So this document contains twenty nine complaints about the 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:23.520 federal investigation. It portrays his victims as unreliable witnesses and 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:26.480 drug abusers vuying for his money, and it casts the 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:31.359 investigators and prosecutors as biased, inept, and unethical. And he 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.639 says he was unfairly targeted by the financial investigation. Here 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:40.159 are a few bullet points. Point twenty she begins a 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:45.760 money laundering investigation without the necessary requirement of specified illegal funds. 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.320 Point twenty one she says she is contemplating charging a 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:54.080 violation of a money transmitting statue, though Epstein has no 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:57.639 such business, so he's lashing out. His email is becoming 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.320 pretty frantic. You could see Epstein venting a about the 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:04.240 prosecution in another email he wrote in November two thousand 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:07.480 and seven to Jimmy Kain, the former chief executive officer 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.560 of bear Stearns, and another friend. 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:14.159 Matt read the subject subject line this is how crazy Jason? 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:15.320 What does Epstein write? 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:20.000 Okay, so this is a lengthy email and he starts 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:24.359 off this email Matt by writing, my team consists of 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:30.520 professionals with over two hundred and fifty years of criminal experience. 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:36.360 Wait, wait, criminal experience or criminal justice experience. 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:43.119 No, No, two hundred and fifty years of criminal experience. 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.240 Look, my guys know about crime, and what they're telling 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:48.720 me this isn't a crime. 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:50.399 Well. What I do think you need to know about 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:59.280 Epstein's emails is they contain so many typos and grammatical errors, 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.600 misspelled words, and we just publish it as he wrote it. 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:06.760 So yeah, but yes, two hundred and fifty years of 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:07.920 criminalist sparents. 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:10.560 I'm going to jump into or two and just note 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:15.000 his email address is littlest Jeff at yahoo dot com. 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.720 That's how it reads. That's how it reads littlest Jeff. 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:23.240 But it's actually Little Saint Jeff, which is the name 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:24.879 of the island he bought. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.720 Oh it looks like Littlest Jeff. Yeah, but it's Little 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:29.440 Saint Jeff. 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.560 Yeah. So the email goes on to say, in an 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:37.199 abundance of care, we have also consulted with outside experts 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:42.720 and former Justice Department officials. The clear and unanimous consensus 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.800 is they find the conduct outrageous and frankly, not one 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:50.399 of them has been able to recall seeing anything like 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.159 this before. And among the outrageous behavior he accuses the 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:57.200 FEDS of is demanding that he registers a sex offender 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:01.159 and pay his quote alleged victims a minimum of one 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:05.000 hundred and fifty thousand dollars each. In his letter to Kane, 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:10.560 he accuses the federal government of engaging in quote virtual extortion. 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:13.159 I get to say, I mean, this guy's facing some 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:16.280 pretty serious stuff. And I think he's worth a lot 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:18.399 of money at this point, and he's quibbling over the 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:20.560 amount of money to be paid to the victims. 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:26.160 Yeah, he is questioning whether they are actually victims. That's 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.560 what is laid bare in these emails during the course 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:34.520 of the government's investigation and prosecution, and this particular email 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:39.000 goes on to say, quote, they demanded a jail sentence 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:43.000 for someone who had no criminal history, no violence, drugs, 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.080 no position of authority. Then when they were confronted with 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:50.119 an extensive brief as to why these statutes did not apply, 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:54.200 they threatened to bring a money crime based on an 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:59.000 illegal money transmitting business, even though no such business ever 0:20:59.040 --> 0:20:59.880 actually existed. 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:02.080 I get to say, as a lawyer, this guy sounds 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:05.040 like a nightmare of a client. So anyway, now you 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:07.320 have an email a week later, what's that about. 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:10.760 Epstein is sending himself an email with a file he's 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:14.120 intending for his attorneys to send to the top federal 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:20.240 prosecutor in southern Florida, Alex Acosta. The documents called Acosta Challenge. 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:25.560 It criticizes Prosecutor Villafana, who's leading the investigation, especially our 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:29.040 focus on his alleged financial crimes. And he also false 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.240 the department for ignoring its own policy of so called 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:35.720 horizontal equity, which is supposed to ensure a level playing 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:37.280 field in prosecutions. 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:40.960 He's saying they're prejudiced against rich people. That's his argument. 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:43.760 They're prejudiced against rich people. So tell me more about 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:44.639 what that letter says. 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.960 Okay, here's part of it. The policy clearly implies that 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:51.520 a man of wealth should be treated no differently than 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:55.000 any of those less fortunate. That has certainly not happened here. 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:59.160 Though many cases of a similar and even more serious 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.600 nature have been resolved with a sentence of house arrest. 0:22:03.480 --> 0:22:05.480 We were told that it was not available to my 0:22:05.600 --> 0:22:10.800 client because it would be considered manshin arrest. My client, 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.240 under investigation for a sex offense, has been asked for 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:18.280 his income tax returns, all bank accounts, his medical records, 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:23.240 threatened with a money laundering charge, though the minimum prerequisite 0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:26.879 of a specified unlawful activity could not be described. 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:31.760 Okay, So Epstein's high powered lawyers are engaging with US 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:35.720 Attorney Alex Acosta. That's the alex Acosta. 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:40.800 Yes, the alex Acosta. Matt the US Labor secretary. In 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:44.760 Donald Trump's first administration, and years before he got that job, 0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:47.040 he was a US attorney for the Southern District of 0:22:47.080 --> 0:22:50.399 Florida who oversaw the Epstein prosecution and the deal he 0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:54.760 worked out. That deal finally came together in June of 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:59.040 two thousand and eight, nine months after Epstein signed his 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:03.960 non prosecution agreement and after relentless letters from Epstein's lawyers. 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:07.560 In its final form, the agreement allowed him to escape 0:23:07.640 --> 0:23:12.440 federal charges, serve a reduced jail sentence, and shield his 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:16.639 co conspirators from prosecution. Alex Acosta signed off on the 0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:17.120 plea deal. 0:23:17.200 --> 0:23:18.840 So what does this mean for a costa now? 0:23:20.080 --> 0:23:23.680 Well, Matt, I'm glad you asked. Last month, Acosta met 0:23:23.680 --> 0:23:26.840 with a House committee on Oversight in Government Reform, and 0:23:26.920 --> 0:23:31.560 during that interview, Representative Melanie Stansbury, she's a New Mexico 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:35.000 Democrat on the committee, asked Acosta whether his office had 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:39.760 discussed potential financial crimes and whether that factored into the 0:23:39.800 --> 0:23:42.000