Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/23/jeffrey-epsteins-trying-to-g.html
Prosecutors accuse Epstein of coercing under-18 girls into sexual abuse, and paying victims to recruit others
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If Epstein is permitted to set foot out of jail, I predict he will immediately leave the country and join Roman Polanski as a permanent fugitive from justice.
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I think he will get away with it too. You wait.
Something will change, out of sight. Probably a call from the DOJ and we will all speculate what happened while at the same time knowing roughly what happened obviously (Trump himself or an ally was threatened by Epstein who has evidence, and Trump called in a favor to Barr). Epstein will get bail.
Epstein flees the country, and sets up shop somewhere corrupt enough to stomach it. Eventually when Democrats come back into power they will hem and haw about how they are looking into options but nothing will ever come of it because some in their camp are also at risk if Epstein releases his trove of dirt.
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nothing to stop a small band of vigilantes from infiltrating his compound, putting the bag on him and dropping him on the courthouse steps.
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Well, except that the US reserves extraordinary rendition techniques for people with more melanin than Mr. Epstein.
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You mean like Paris?
I suppose it helps that Roman Polanski is a French citizen, but he’s foiled extradition for 40 years.
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Epstein’s lawyers actually proposed that he should be able to stay under house arrest without being a flight risk because he could pay for the security that ensured he wouldn’t escape.
Because yeah, you can totally put your faith in a private security guard not to let his boss escape.
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The justifications I’ve heard from the French on defending Polanski are gross. I will say though, there is an order of magnitude of difference between Epstein and Polanski.
My guess on where Epstein ends up is Venezuela or Columbia.
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I love it when the rich and powerful are forced to realize that they are just people.
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Given the history of how rich white guys are treated by the criminal justice system in general, and Epstein in particular, being pessimistic is by no means foolish. But I’d suggest things have changed significantly in the past few years, and that while being vigilant is important, going overly Eeyore at this point can be counterproductive. Among other things, any judge who overturns the house arrest decision is putting his (and, let’s be honest, NOT hers, 'cuz it’d be a male or males who ruled for Epstein) career at serious risk, because if Epstein indeed fled the country, the uproar would be deafening.
Maybe I’m being overly Pollyannaish, but I don’t think so.
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FEDS USES PEDOBALL! IT IS SUPER EFFECTIVE!
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But, me thinks that this has not happened yet. He still has a shit ton of money, power and influence. Because names.
I hope that he gets trafficked in prison before he can walk anywhere free.
I don’t think so. Maybe he gets acquitted at trial, but otherwise I doubt anyone will be stupid enough to stick their necks out for him. I’ve underestimated the stupidity of this administration before, so you might be right.
But here’s the scenario that has happened so far and what would need to happen to quash the case.
We know that Epstein was given what any lawyer would immediately identify as a suspicious sweetheart deal. It uses vague language that does not bind other federal districts but is clearly intended to dissuade prosecution by those districts. This agreement was written by a serving cabinet secretary at the time the new indictment was filed.
So we know that the US Attorney who brought this was going against the wishes of a sitting cabinet secretary and the indictment would be a thumb in the eye of that secretary. The US Attorney must have (A) some big balls in bringing this case, but also (B) the intention to have Epstein as a trophy or he’s a true believer who wants to lock Epstein up because it’s the right thing.
In either case, the US Attorney is not going to let this one drop. US Attorneys have significant autonomy, even ones that aren’t in a district called the Sovereign District of New York. I don’t believe they usually ask Main Justice before bringing charges, and don’t solicit Main Justice’s feedback on any prosecution.
If my reading of DOJ structure is correct, the only people who could ask a US Attorney to drop a case would be the Attorney General (Barr), the Deputy Attorney General (Jeffrey Rozen) or the Associate Attorney General for the Criminal Division (Brian Benczkowski). Even then, such a request would basically have to be approved by Barr.
If a request came to drop a case that a US Attorney with huge balls staked his career on, you would expect that US Attorney to push back and flat out refuse until and unless the order came in writing from Barr himself, at which point the US Attorney would resign in protest and taking most of the SDNY staff with him, sparking a very high profile media feeding frenzy that could be placed nowhere else but upon Barr’s shoulders. Congress would have to confirm a replacement, where you can be darned sure the nominee would be grilled on whether he would take up cases like Epstein’s. Other US Attorneys might also resign in protest (though this is unlikely).
Barr is a snake who’s gotten through some negative press, but that’s nothing compared to the outrage he would be forced to cause if he tried to quash the case now.
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If I understand correctly, US Attourneys would be appointed by Barr.
You begin to see the problem. The way the system is being gamed in plain sight with no repurcussions or concern does not give me faith that Epstein and his clientele will see justice.
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US Attorneys are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. Once confirmed, they are more or less in their own fiefdoms, not reporting to DOJ administration for their prosecution decisions. See also 2006 when the DOJ had to fire their way through US Attorneys to make certain prosecution decisions.
And as for offering bail, that would be like telling a poker player with a straight to draw one. It would be evwn more suspicious than telling them to drop the case because:
1.) There is a presumption of no bail in sex trafficking cases
2.) They have already won on bail
3.) The judge issued a 33-page ruling on bail. Multipage bail rulings are rare, so this suggests that the judge expected an appeal, and expended sigbificant time crafting a decision intended to survive appeal.
4.) Epstein has significant flight risk factors that can be easily articulated to a judge.
5.) I think federal judges can issue orders for no bail even if prosecution and defense stipulate a bail agreement. A judge who just spent significant time writing a 33-page decision on rejecting bail might decide to ignore the prosecution’s request for bail.
And once again, this US Attorney has already casually walked away as he threw a lit cigarette over his shouler onto the gasoline-soaked career of Alexander Acosta.
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It certainly helps that all eyes are on this case, so at least for now it would be difficult for anyone to toss Epstein a lifeline without drawing unwanted attention to themselves and their career prospects.
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I LOVE that image!
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I thought it up when I was in the shower and had to get it down in writing.
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I’m guessing his top uncontrollable desire at the moment is to not spend the rest of his life in prison. Hopefully that desire remains well out of his control.
If it happens, I’m guessing he will suffer a fatal “accident” on his journey. I can’t imagine he’s worth more alive than dead to the people who can pull the strings to free him. Alive, he’s still a threat while they are in power. Even more so if they help him get out.
Maybe I’ve watched too many mob movies, but our government certainly is leaning in that direction.
“You know, Afghanistan. You have quite a country there. Be a shame if something were to happen to it. I’m just saying. I don’t want anything to happen to it, but… things happen.”
He won’t realize that until he’s no longer rich and powerful. Until that time… he’s still rich and powerful. He’s just inconvenienced at the moment.
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Rape is not ok. Ever. no matter how shitty the person. And this guy is the shittiest.
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