Epstein lawyers discussed possibility of cooperation with prosecutors days before his death, files reveal | Jeffrey Epstein
Less than two weeks before Jeffrey Epstein died in prison, his lawyers and federal prosecutors in Manhattan met and discussed his potential cooperation, according to several documents contained in a cache of newly released investigative files.
“On July 29, 2019, the FBI and [prosecutors] “I met with Epstein’s attorneys who, in very general terms, discussed the possibility of a resolution of the matter and the possibility of cooperation from the accused,” states an FBI document titled “Epstein Investigation Summary & Timeline.”
Another document titled “Jeffrey Epstein Significant Case Notification,” which was not attributed to a specific agency, closely resembled this FBI memo and provided several additional details.
“Defense attorneys have not made a specific proposal and have not indicated what nature of Epstein’s cooperation, if any, might be,” that document states. “It was suggested that defense counsel contact the SDNY if Epstein was willing to accept responsibility for his conduct and/or if he had a specific proposal to resolve this matter.”
Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. The indictment against Epstein says he sexually abused “dozens of minor girls by enticing them to engage in sexual acts with him in exchange for money” from 2002 to 2005.
Epstein, according to the indictment, “worked with several employees and associates to ensure that he had a constant supply of minor victims of abuse, and paid several of those victims themselves to recruit other minor girls to engage in similar sexual acts for money.”
Epstein has pleaded not guilty to the indictment. He unsuccessfully requested to be released and placed under house arrest while awaiting trial.
On July 23, 2019, days before this reported meeting with prosecutors, Epstein was discovered unresponsive in a jail cell, multiple media outlets reported. Although it is unclear how Epstein suffered his neck injuries, two anonymous sources told New York’s NBC News 4 that his injuries may have been self-inflicted.
Epstein appeared in good health when he appeared in court on July 31, a week after the reported injuries and two days after the meeting described in the documents.
Epstein was found unconscious in his cell on August 10 and pronounced dead at the hospital. Authorities said Epstein’s cause of death was suicide.
Epstein, who counted high-profile men such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor among his associates, had resolved sexual abuse allegations about two decades before this case. Police in Palm Beach, Florida, interviewed numerous juvenile victims in 2005 and 2006.
The FBI and the South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated the allegations. That case ended in a controversial sweetheart plea deal in 2008 that allowed him to avoid federal charges if he admitted to state prostitution charges.
