A New York judge has rejected a bid to force the FBI to release a secret trove of documents related to its controversial investigation into billionaire sex pervert Jeffrey Epstein, Knewz.com has exclusively learned.
In a ruling handed down on June 25, United States District Judge Paul G. Gardephe said the files, buried since Epstein’s suicide death in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019, must remain secret because their public disclosure would interfere with the possible retrial of Ghislaine Maxwell, his one-time madam, and girlfriend.
{snip}
Maxwell and Epstein are former friends of presidents including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, along with Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, and other famous identities.
In handing down his verdict in response to a freedom of information lawsuit brought against the FBI from the website RadarOnline.com, Judge Gardephe ordered the cache of Epstein files — almost always released upon someone’s death — to remain under lock and key.
“This court concludes that (the FBI) provides sufficient details for the Court to trace a rational link between the information contained in the records and the potential interference with law enforcement proceedings, and the FBI has thus met its burden for withholding disclosure of the records,” the Southern District of New York judge said.
The decision is a climax — at least for now — to a seven-year fight from the online news outlet to compel the FBI to release the controversial files.
It has been claimed the FBI received tips, reports, and complaints about Epstein’s activities from 1996-2006, but the agency didn’t open a case until July 24, 2006.
Even then, Epstein entered into a 2008 sweetheart agreement with the feds in Florida to instead plead guilty to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.
{snip}
A lawyer for RadarOnline.com said the outlet was considering whether to appeal the decision but vowed to “continue to fight for transparency and accountability.”
“The FBI is covering its tracks by using a hypothetical retrial of Ghislaine Maxwell as justification not to release its Epstein files,” Dan Novack, a first-amendment lawyer who acts for the publication, told Knewz.com in an exclusive statement.
Even before Maxwell was prosecuted in 2020, the FBI and the Department of Justice had been relentlessly fighting to keep the majority of the documents from RadarOnline.com and out of the public’s gaze, raising questions about what could be in the files.
In previous filings, the FBI admitted the documents included evidentiary and investigative materials, including “copies of records or evidence, analysis of that evidence, and derivative communications summarizing or otherwise referencing evidence.”
Other material included “internal communications among investigators within the FBI providing updates regarding the status of the investigation, including witness interviews and discussions of evidence gathered during the investigation” and “communications between the FBI and other government agencies regarding the investigation.”
They admitted only a “small fraction” of documents in their possession had ever been made public.
Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor against Maxwell from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told the court the disclosure of the material would impact witness testimony, witness’ willingness to testify, prejudice the jury pool “so as to hinder the government’s ability to present its case in court” and provide Maxwell with greater access “to the investigatory files than she would otherwise have during the criminal discovery process.”
Novack argued the FBI failed to link the documents to any potential harm.
{snip}
But Judge Gardephe disagreed, ruling the FBI had proffered to the court specific harms that would result from the public disclosure of the documents.
“For example, the FBI has explained that public disclosure of the Evidentiary/Investigative Materials ‘could influence the testimony of witnesses by providing the opportunity for witnesses to shape their testimony to conform with other evidence gathered during the investigation, including both records and witness statements,” he ruled.
“Disclosure of the Evidentiary/Investigative Materials could also have a chilling effect on witnesses because ‘the public release of this information could lead to the identification and intimidation of witnesses who may decline to cooperate with the parties and be disinclined to testify their personal information is released to the public.”
Judge Gardephe added, “Public disclosure could also cause unfair prejudice to the Government at a retrial, based on the fact that certain documents were available to the Government but not offered at the first trial. Finally, public disclosure would provide Maxwell with greater access to the investigator materials than she would otherwise have.”
As Knewz.com first reported, Epstein avoided federal criminal charges in 2008 in a deal that saw him become a government informant.
{snip}
The document read: “On 9/11/08, case agent advised writer that Epstein is currently being prosecuted by the State of Florida and is complying with all conditions of his plea with the State of Florida. Epstein has also provided information to the FBI as agreed upon. Case agent advised that no federal prosecution will occur in this matter as long as Epstein continues to uphold his agreement with the State of Florida.”
What secrets the disgraced financier divulged to the FBI, which former Trump special prosecutor Robert Mueller ran at the time the agreement was struck, have never been revealed.
Speaking exclusively to Knewz.com last August, Novack suggested the FBI had a hidden motive to keep the files from public view.
“The Department of Justice protected Jeffrey Epstein’s secrets during his life and continues to protect his — and their own — after his death,” he said.
{snip}
RadarOnline.com has been engaged in a legal dispute with the FBI since 2017 when it first filed the lawsuit.
The investigative news outlet appeared to be on track for a win in the high-stakes case: last year, a judge ruled that some of the documents must be turned over.
But when Maxwell, 62, filed an appeal in March, arguing that she should be set free under the terms of a previous deal with federal prosecutors, the case hit a roadblock.
Separately, a dozen victims of Epstein sued the U.S. government in February, accusing the FBI of allowing and enabling his sex trafficking for two decades.
“As a direct and proximate cause of the FBI’s negligence, plaintiffs would not have been continued to be sex trafficked, abused, raped, tortured and threatened,” a lawsuit suit read.
“Jane Does 1-12 bring this lawsuit to get to the bottom — once and for all — of the FBI’s role in Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring.”
The plaintiffs also alleged that the FBI had evidence of crimes that the agency refused to pursue.
{snip}
“The FBI had photographs, videos and interviews and hard evidence of child prostitution and failed to timely investigate and arrest Epstein in deviation from the FBI protocols.”
“The FBI had a non-discretionary obligation, governed by established policies, procedures, rules, and protocols, to handle and investigate tips concerning potential and ongoing underage child erotica, rape, sex with minors, and sex trafficking in a reasonable manner and to act against Epstein and to prevent him from committing repeated crimes,” it continued.
“Yet, contrary to its own established rules, the FBI failed to take appropriate action and botched and covered up investigations for years.”
* Original Article: