Mary Scrantin
On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that both Democrats and Republicans agreed on. The law might finally provide answers about a 2006 investigation by a grand jury probe that charged Jeffrey Epstein with just one criminal count.
“This is long overdue, but, again, we feel that we just can’t turn a blind eye,” DeSantis said shortly before signing HB 117 into law at a ceremony in Palm Beach. The law will take effect on July 1st.
A Controversial Figure With A Global Presence
Epstein, who was a businessman with a history of criminal activities, has a well-documented past. He owned houses all over the world. He even owned an entire island in the Caribbean. Epstein also had connections with many powerful people. This list includes many presidents, CEOs, and billionaires.
After going to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, Epstein left Manhattan’s Cooper Union in 1971. He then went to New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences but he did quit before he finished.
From Teaching To Finance
Even though he couldn’t finish his schooling, Epstein taught calculus and physics at Dalton from 1973 to 1975. While teaching, he helped Ace Greenberg’s son with his studies and became friends with his daughter, according to Vanity Fair.
He quit teaching in 1976 to work at Bear Stearns. Epstein. He did a good job there and became a limited partner. But in 1981, he left to start his own company.
A Preference For Younger Women
Real estate mogul Donald Trump described Epstein in 2002 to New York Magazine as someone who enjoys his social life and prefers younger women. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years,” Trump told the magazine at the time.
“Terrific guy. He’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.” In 2007, Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff told the magazine that during his flight on Epstein’s private plane in the 1990s, Epstein was in the company of three teenage girls. And no, they were not related.
Trump Cut Ties A Long Time Ago
Wolff described them as being “18, 19, 20” and “model-like.” “He has never been secretive about the girls,” Wolff said. “What can I say, I like young girls. Maybe you should say, ‘I like young women,” He’d once said.
Even before the recent accusations surfaced, Trump already tried to give himself some space from Epstein. He told reporters in the Oval Office on July 9, “I knew him, like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I haven’t spoken with him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan. Maybe 15 years ago. I wasn’t a fan of his.”
Epstein Legal Controversy And Victims
A grand jury investigation in Palm Beach only resulted in one criminal charge. And it was for seeking prostitution, now this has caused a lot of debate. This allowed Epstein to avoid being held liable for raping and sexually abusing girls.
Even though law enforcement knew Epstein sexually abused over 30 girls, prosecutors only brought one victim before the grand jury. Julie K. Brown, a reporter for the Miami Herald, wrote about this in her book “Perversion of Justice.”
136 Epstein Victims Found
A program set up to compensate victims after Epstein’s death found 136 of them. Recent lawsuits against banks accused of helping Epstein in sex trafficking suggest there could be as many as 200 victims.
DeSantis said that in cases like Epstein’s, people should be able to see the evidence and what witnesses said during a grand jury hearing.
In Search Of An Explanation.
While the law doesn’t talk about the disgraced finances directly, it’s made to deal with many claims that he paid young girls for massages and hurt them. Advocates for the victims hope that showing the records from Epstein’s grand jury will help explain why prosecutors didn’t charge him with more serious crimes, and what else they knew back then.
According to The Associated Press, a judge decided not to release the records on Thursday because of the new law.
Judge Delays Release Of Epstein Records
Instead, the judge decided that requests about the Palm Beach Post’s lawsuit for the records will have to wait until July. According to the new law, a court could decide to show grand jury evidence if the person being investigated by the grand jury is dead and the investigation was about “criminal or sexual activity” with a minor.
Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 after federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused him of trafficking minors.
A Key Moment In The Epstein Case
The Palm Beach investigation was a big moment in Epstein’s story because it was the first time authorities looked into him for having sex with underage girls. During the investigation, State Attorney Barry Krischer decided to take the case to a grand jury.
The Palm Beach police chief was really upset when the grand jury only charged Epstein with one crime, so the FBI stepped in.
A Controversial Close To Epstein’s Case
They made a 53-page charge sheet against Epstein, but their investigation was stopped by a deal Epstein’s lawyers made with then-US District Attorney Alex Acosta.
In the end, Epstein spent just 13 months in jail, much of it spent on “work release” where he hung out in his office.
The Fallout From The Miami Herald Investigation
A 2019 investigation by the Miami Herald, led by Brown, brought fresh focus on the deals prosecutors made with Epstein.
This caused public outrage, leading to the resignation of Acosta, who had become President Trump’s Labor Secretary. Following this, federal prosecutors in Manhattan started their own case against Epstein.
Epstein Associate Names Released
In January, a judge decided to make public the names of about 170 people linked to Epstein. This happened during a lawsuit between one of his accusers and his alleged sex-trafficking partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The documents are being gradually released to the public court record, starting with the first set made available in the first week of January.
Notable Names Cited
Former President Bill Clinton is among the notable figures mentioned in the documents released so far. He was previously referred to as “Doe 36” and was named in many redacted court filings.
The papers also raise new questions about Prince Andrew, who was a close friend of Epstein. He claimed to have ended their friendship in 2010.
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