Nor is Jeffrey Epstein, billionaire financier, of whom Trump once said: "(Epstein's) a lot of fun to be with ... It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Epstein is in jail in New York City, awaiting a bail hearing. Prosecutors say he is a flight risk, having great wealth, several passports, a private jet and facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
Epstein's list of famous, wealthy connections includes Bill Clinton as well as Trump, but don't expect many Democrats to argue against prosecuting Epstein because of that possible embarrassment the way Republicans will line up to shield Trump from being linked to pedophilia.
The justice here is that in the #metoo era women whose accusations about Epstein and others may now be heard, not quashed as they were in a deal in Florida in 2005 when Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to a state prostitution charge and avoid prosecution on federal charges involving sex with young girls. In that case, Epstein served 13 months, was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
The federal prosecutor in that case was Alex Acosta, now Trump's secretary of labor. A federal judge in Florida ruled recently that Acosta broke the law by not informing Epstein's accusers of the secret deal. Now, with federal prosecutors in New York saying they are not bound by the Florida case, the women feel they will finally have their day in court.
Acosta, using the Trump mode of communication, sent out a series of tweets Tuesday, including: "Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice."
Sounds like someone desperately trying to save his job. But he may be right. New York prosecutors said Monday they discovered a "vast trove" of lewd photographs of young females during a raid on Epstein's New York City mansion. They also said they found papers and phone records corroborating the alleged crimes, and a massage room still set up the way accusers said.
As I said, it's a sordid story, but one that may finally see daylight, thanks in large part, by the way, to dogged reporting by The Miami Herald. There's nothing fake about this news.
One more reason to like this story and acknowledge synchronicity - one of the federal prosecutors in the New York case against Epstein is Maureen Comey. Yes, she's the daughter of James Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump for refusing to make collusion charges simply go away like the sex-trafficking charges against Epstein disappeared in Florida.
So, way to go U.S. women's soccer team and way to go Southern District New York federal prosecutor's office. Best weekend this country has had in a long time.
rjgaydos@gmail,com
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