♪ Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. ♪
>>> TWO NEW DEVELOPMENTS TO
REPORT TONIGHT IN THE SCANDAL
UNFOLDING AROUND DONALD TRUMP
CABINET OFFICIAL U.S. LABOR
SECRETARY ALEX ACOSTA.
ALEX ACOSTA’S LABOR SECRETARY
NOW.
NOW. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY THE U.S.
ATTORNEY IN FLORIDA WHEN A HEDGE
FUND MILLIONAIRE NAMED JEFFREY
EPSTEIN WAS INVESTIGATED BY THE
FBI FOR MYRIAD CHILD SEX CRIMES.
INSTEAD OF BRINGING CHARGES AS A
RESULT OF THAT INVESTIGATION,
THE U.S. ATTORNEY IN THAT
JURISDICTION, AGAIN NOW OUR
SITTING LABOR SECRETARY ALEX
ACOSTA, HE GAVE JEFFREY EPSTEIN
A DEAL, WHICH GAVE HIM IMMUNITY
FROM ALL FEDERAL CHARGES.
INSTEAD, ACOSTA LET EPSTEIN
PLEAD GUILTY TO JUST TWO STATE
PROSTITUTION CHARGES.
PROSTITUTION CHARGES. SINCE THEN, NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
LED BY THE "MIAMI HERALD" HAVE
BEEN BATTLING IN FEDERAL COURT
TRYING TO GET RECORDS UNSEALED
IN A DEFAMATION CASE RELATED TO
THE CASE AGAINST EPSTEIN.
THE THINKING IS THOSE RECORDS
MIGHT SHED LIGHT ON THE LENIENT
PLEA DEAL THAT WAS BROKERED BY
ALEX ACOSTA.
ALEX ACOSTA. IT MIGHT ALSO SPREAD FURTHER
LIGHT ON ANY OF EPSTEIN’S CRIMES
AND ANY POTENTIAL ACCOMPLICES.
THE COURT SET A DEADLINE
YESTERDAY FOR ANYBODY TO COME
FORWARD WITH JUSTIFICATION FOR
WHY RECORDS IN THAT CASE SHOULD
STAY SEALED.
STAY SEALED. OTHERWISE THE JUDGES SAID THEY
WERE INCLINED TO RELEASE THE
RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC AFTER ALL
THESE YEARS.
THESE YEARS. BUT LOOK WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT
BEFORE THE DEADLINE.
QUOTE, TWO MYSTERY PARTIES TRIED
TO RESTRICT RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS
IN JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S CIVIL SUIT.
THIS HAPPENED RIGHT AT THE
DEADLINE.
DEADLINE. ONE OF THE MYSTERY PEOPLE WHO
CAME FORWARD RIGHT AT THE
DEADLINE IS REPORTEDLY AN
EPSTEIN VICTIM WHO WANTS TO KEEP
INFORMATION ABOUT HERSELF OUT OF
ANY RELEASE DOCUMENTS.
THE OTHER IS AN UNIDENTIFIED MAN
CALLING HIMSELF JOHN DOE, AND
THOSE TWO MYSTERY PARTIES AT THE
VERY LAST MINUTE ARE TRYING TO
BLOCK THE UNSEALING OF THESE
COURT RECORDS ABOUT THE EPSTEIN
CASE.
CASE. IN THE CASE OF THE VICTIM, IT’S
EASY TO SEE WHY SHE MIGHT WANT
HER OWN SELF-DEFINED PRIVACY IN
THIS MATTER.
THIS MATTER. FOR THE JOHN DOE, THOUGH, WHO
KNOWS WHAT HIS INTERESTS ARE
HERE.
HERE. THE FIGHT OVER KEEPING THOSE
RECORDS UNDER SEAL OR RELEASING
THEM IS COMING TO A HEAD RIGHT
NOW, AND IT’S ALL HAPPENING IN
THE CONTEXT OF ANOTHER BRAND-NEW
REVELATION ON THIS CASE FROM THE
"MIAMI HERALD."
"MIAMI HERALD." UNBEKNOWNST TO EVERYBODY AT THE
TIME, WHEN JEFFREY EPSTEIN CUT
THAT DEAL WITH ALEX ACOSTA SO HE
COULD PLEAD GUILTY TO JUST TWO
STATE CHARGES, THE YOUNGEST
VICTIM INVOLVED IN THE CRIMES
THEY LET EPSTEIN PLEAD TO WAS 16
YEARS OLD, WHICH IS HORRIFYING
IN ITSELF, BUT THEY LET HIM
PLEAD TO A CASE INVOLVING A
16-YEAR-OLD, DESPITE THE FACT
THAT OTHER VICTIMS AS YOUNG AS
13 AND 14 HAD COME FORWARD.
AND THAT’S NOT ONLY NEW
INFORMATION IN TERMS OF
UNDERSTANDING THE DEAL THAT ALEX
ACOSTA BROKERED FOR JEFFREY
EPSTEIN, IT ALSO SHEDS LIGHT ON
JUST HOW MUCH OF A SWEETHEART
DEAL ALEX ACOSTA GAVE JEFFREY
EPSTEIN, BECAUSE 16 IS THE AGE
OF CONSENT IN MORE THAN HALF THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. SO ALLOWING EPSTEIN TO PLEAD
GUILTY TO CHARGES WITH A
16-YEAR-OLD GIRL, WITH AN OLDER
VICTIM INSTEAD OF A 13 AND
14-YEAR-OLDS WHO CAME FORWARD,
THAT EASED HIS OBLIGATIONS TO
REGISTER AS A CHILD SEX
OFFENDER.
OFFENDER. WHY WOULD YOU GO OUT OF YOUR WAY
TO DO THAT WHEN MAKING THIS DEAL
WITH HIM, WHEN YOU HAD YOUNGER
VICTIMS WHO HAD COME FORWARD?
JOINING US NOW IS JULIE BROWN.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT AT THE
"MIAMI HERALD" WHO HAS
DONE LANDMARK REPORTING ON THE
EPSTEIN CASE AND EVERYTHING THAT
LABOR SECRETARY ALEX ACOSTA DID
FOR EPSTEIN IN THIS CASE.
MS. BROWN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR JOINING US.
IT’S NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE.
>> THANK YOU.
>> LET ME ASK YOU FIRST ABOUT
THIS NEW REPORTING THAT WAS JUST
POSTED AT "THE HERALD" TONIGHT
ABOUT THE 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHOSE
ALLEGATION AGAINST EPSTEIN WAS
THE BASIS OF HIS PLEA DEAL.
THIS IS THE HEADLINE ON YOUR
SCOOP TONIGHT.
SCOOP TONIGHT. QUOTE, SHE WAS THE VICTIM IN
EPSTEIN’S SECRET PLEA DEAL.
SHE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT HEADLINE
AND WHAT YOU FOUND HERE?
>> WELL, FOR UNKNOWN REASONS,
ALL OF THE SUDDEN THE STATE
ATTORNEY IN PALM BEACH ANNOUNCED
THE BIRTH DATE OF THE GIRL THAT
WAS ATTACHED TO THE PLEA DEAL
THAT MR. EPSTEIN AGREED TO PLEA
TO AT THE TIME THAT HE WAS A
SUSPECT IN A NUMBER OF SEX --
CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING CRIMES.
INSTEAD OF CHARGING HIM WITH
FEDERAL SEX TRAFFICKING CRIMES,
HE WAS ALLOWED TO PLEAD GUILTY
TO PROSTITUTION CHARGES.
THE PAPERWORK FOR THAT WAS
VERY -- ALWAYS VERY VAGUE.
IT WASN’T CLEAR EXACTLY WHICH
VICTIM THAT WAS ATTACHED TO.
THERE WAS NO PAPERWORK ON IT,
AND THEY DIDN’T PRESENT IT EVEN
TO THE SENTENCING JUDGE.
AND NOW WE KNOW THAT THIS
PARTICULAR VICTIM WAS 16 YEARS
OLD.
OLD. AND THE REASON WHY THEY PICKED A
16-YEAR-OLD WAS, AGAIN, NOT ONLY
DID THEY MANIPULATE THE CRIMINAL
CASE AGAINST HIM, SABOTAGED THE
CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST HIM, BUT
THEY ALSO MANIPULATED THE CHARGE
THAT HE HAD TO PLEA TO WHICH
INVOLVES A REGISTERED SEX
OFFENSE.
OFFENSE. BY DOING THAT, HE DOESN’T HAVE A
STRICT MONITORING AND
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. >> IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENED
HERE WITH THESE VICTIMS, I MEAN,
IT’S STRIKING THAT YOU HAVE
FOUND THAT THIS WOMAN WHO WAS
THE DESCRIBED VICTIM ESSENTIALLY
IN THE SECRET PLEA DEAL DIDN’T
EVEN KNOW THAT HERS WAS THE CASE
THAT HE PLEAD TO.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT’S
STRIKING IS IT APPEARS THAT IN
COURT, THE JUDGE ASKED ABOUT
OTHER VICTIMS, AND THE JUDGE
ASKED THE PROSECUTORS WHETHER OR
NOT THE VICTIMS WERE ESSENTIALLY
OKAY WITH THIS DEAL OR THEY WERE
AWARE IT HAD HAPPENED.
PROSECUTORS APPEAR TO HAVE
MISREPRESENTED THE TRUTH TO THE
JUDGE AND TOLD THE JUDGE THAT
THE VICTIMS ALL KNEW ABOUT THIS
AND ALSO THEY SEEMED TO HAVE
KEPT FROM THE JUDGE THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF VICTIMS INVOLVED HERE.
THAT SUGGESTS TO ME THAT THE
PROSECUTORS MAY BE IN EVEN
FURTHER TROUBLE THAN WE’VE
ALREADY SEEN AS THIS CASE HAS
BROKEN OPEN THIS YEAR, IN LARGE
PART BECAUSE OF YOUR REPORTING.
>> WELL, WE KNEW FROM THE
PAPERWORK WE ALREADY HAD THAT
THEY WERE TRYING TO MISLEAD THE
JUDGE.
JUDGE. THERE WERE COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN THE FEDERAL -- THE LEAD
FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND EPSTEIN’S
ATTORNEYS BASICALLY WHERE THEY
WERE SAYING WE REALLY DON’T WANT
TO TELL THE JUDGE HOW MANY
VICTIMS THERE ARE OR HOW MANY
CHARGES THAT WE COULD HAVE
GOTTEN HIM ON.
LET’S JUST NOT TELL THE JUDGE
ALL THIS INFORMATION.
BUT THIS, REALLY, THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS LATEST
STORY, NOW THAT WE KNOW WHO THE
VICTIM WAS IN THIS PARTICULAR
PLEA, IT’S CLEAR BECAUSE THE
ATTORNEY FOR THAT WOMAN, I SPOKE
WITH HIM YESTERDAY, AND HE
REPRESENTED 16, BY THE WAY, OF
EPSTEIN’S UNDERAGED VICTIMS.
AND HE SAID NONE OF THE VICTIMS
WERE EVER INFORMED OF THIS PLEA
DEAL.
DEAL. SO WHEN THE PROSECUTOR WENT IN
FRONT OF THE JUDGE AND THE
JUNGLE SAID HAVE THESE VICTIMS
BEEN NOTIFIED, AND SHE SAID YES,
IT’S CLEAR THAT THAT WAS UNTRUE.
>> JULIE BROWN, WHO HAS WON A
POLK AWARD FOR THIS REPORTING.
JULIA, THANK YOU FOR THIS
REPORTING.
REPORTING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
>> THANKS.
>> THANKS. >> WE HAVE SEEN A LOT OF
SKEDADDLE AND DEPARTURES AND
SCANDAL FROM THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION AND EVEN FROM THE
TRUMP CABINET.
TRUMP CABINET. IT REMAINS ASTONISHING TO ME.
THAT IN THIS CASE, WITH ALEX
ACOSTA AS LABOR SECRETARY,
LITERALLY A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED
THAT HE BROKE THE LAW WHEN
LEADING THAT PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
INTO DOING THIS DEAL WITH
EPSTEIN.
EPSTEIN. THE LAW WAS BROKEN BY ACOSTA IN
HIS LAST FEDERAL JOB BEFORE THE
ONE HE’S ON NOW.
AND YET HE REMAINS AS A CABINET
SECRETARY, AS LABOR SECRETARY IN
THIS ADMINISTRATION.
THIS ADMINISTRATION. THE PRESIDENT AS RECENTLY AS
THIS WEEK GAVE SUPPORT TO HIM.
DESPITE HIM BREAKING THE LAW IN
ORDER TO GIVE A CHILD SEX
OFFENDER A SWEET DEAL THAT HIS