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EFTA01089193
174 sivua
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JAY P. LEFKOWITZ, ESQ. ROY BLACK, ESQ. JACK GOLDBERGER, ESQ. JUNE 15, 2009 PAGE 3 OF 4 the Office proposes that we seek the prompt resolution of the Motion to Quash, so that the computer equipment can be analyzed and the investigation can continue, including the identification of additional victims. If, instead, Mr. Epstein intends to continue performing his obligations under the Non-Prosecution Agreement, then the investigation will remain closed, and no federal criminal action will be pending. Please advise whether you would like to proceed on the Motion to Quash or, if not, please correct the representations to the Court regarding the status of the federal investigation. In November, more issues arose when we learned—not from Mr. Epstein or his attorneys—that Mr. Epstein was spending more than twelve hours each day outside the Palm Beach County Stockade. Mr. Epstein's release prior to the Office's notification of that release, resulted in accusations from victims that the Office had violated its statutory victim notification obligations. Our investigation of Mr. Epstein's application for the work release program demonstrated that Mr. Epstein made several false statements in his application and made threatening statements to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office about legal repercussions if he was not admitted to the program. I also discovered—again, not from Mr. Epstein or his attorneys—that Judge McSorley had modified Mr. Epstein's judgment nunc pro tunc to an "Order of Community Control I," which directly contradicted the terms of the Non- Prosecution Agreement. This required a fourth Notice of Breach and another claim that there was no "intended breach" followed by a meaningless "cure." During my conversation with Mr. Lefkowitz of June 12th regarding our fifth written Notice of Breach, and during the proceeding before Judge Marra, I heard again that Mr. Epstein had no intent to breach the Non-Prosecution Agreement but was merely relying on his attorneys. In light of the fact that Mr. Epstein is highly intelligent and experienced with the law, and is reportedly spending more than twelve hours a day at his attorney's office working on nothing but the litigation pending against him, this excuse will not be accepted. This letter is being provided to all three of you with the recommendation that you circulate it to any attorney who is acting on Mr. Epstein's behalf. Importantly, while Mr. Epstein has continued to receive the benefit of his bargain by not facing federal prosecution, our Office has not received the benefits of finality, savings of resources, or the punishment and victim restitution terms envisioned by the Non- EFTA01089213
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JAY P. LEFKOWITZ EsQ. ROY BLACK, ESQ. JACK GOLDBERGER, ESQ. JUNE 15, 2009 PAGE 4 OF 4 Prosecution Agreement. As I mentioned in our telephone call, I have asked Mr. Josefsberg to provide me with the correspondence that he referenced during the hearing before Judge Marra. That will be reviewed to determine if there has been yet another breach by Mr. Epstein. As I stated, and as mentioned in the Notice Letter served upon Mr. Goldberger, notice of any breaches that we discover will be provided as required by the Non-Prosecution Agreement. Our Office also will review the new pleading in the Jane Doe 101 matter that Mr. Lefkowitz mentioned, prior to deciding what, if any, remedies we will pursue for Mr. Epstein's breach. However, I note that, while the U.S. Attorney's Office is required to provide notice of any breach, there is no requirement that Mr. Epstein be allowed the opportunity to cure any breach. The pattern of behavior described above will be factored into the Office's decision on what remedies it will pursue in connection with this most recent breach and any future violations. Sincerely, Jeffrey H. Sloman Acting United States Attorney By: Assistant United States Attorney cc: Northern Division EFTA01089214
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TAB 5 EFTA01089215
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U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Southern District of Florida DELIVERY BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Jay P. Lefkowitz, Esq. Kirkland & Ellis LLP Re: Jeffrey Epstein Dear Jay: June 17, 2009 Thank you for your letter of June 15, 2009. I did not receive your letter until late yesterday afternoon because I am shuttling back and forth between the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach offices. The best way to reach me is via e-mail. With respect to the substance of your letter, the Office has not completed its review of Mr. Epstein's civil filings and correspondence related to the payment of the attorney representative's fees, so I cannot confirm that all outstanding issues have been resolved. If and when additional breaches are identified, timely notice will be provided in accordance with the terms of the Non-Prosecution Agreement. As to your proposal. our Office cannot and will not become involved in the civil suits filed against Mr. Epstein; as counsel for Mr. Epstein has expressed on several occasions, it is inappropriate for the government to involve itself in civil litigation. We likewise do not think it is appropriate to review civil pleadings in order to provide advisory opinions, even at your request. The duty to stay within the bounds of the Non-Prosecution Agreement lies with Mr. Epstein and he alone has the power to remain in compliance. Mr. Epstein has a highly skilled team to assist him, and compliance with the Agreement is not difficult, as you suggest. For example, it is not complicated to understand that, when a named victim files a claim EFTA01089216
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JAY P. LEFKOW1TZ, ESQ. JUNE 17, 2009 PAGE 2 OF 2 exclusively under Section 2255, Mr. Epstein cannot assert that there is no liability, just as providing the state plea agreement to our Office in advance of entering the state guilty plea was not complicated. I remain hopeful that Mr. Epstein will take all of his obligations seriously and elect to err on the side of caution in making decisions that relate to the performance of his duties. Sincerely, Jeffrey If. Sloman Acting United States Attorney cc: Jack Goldberger, Esq. Roy Black, Esq. By: Assistant United States Attorney Northern Division EFTA01089217
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TAB 6 EFTA01089218
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KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
AND AFFILIATED MRTNISSMIES
Jay P. Lefkowitz, P.C.
To Call Writer Direct' •
VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS
United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Florida
Des
Citigroup Center
WWW.lorkland.com
June 19, 2009
Re: Jeffrey Epstein
Facsimile:
I appreciate your letter of June 17, 2009. I sincerely hope that any and all issues that
could generate an adversarial relationship between Mr. Epstein and the United States Attorney's
Office are in our past. Like you, we hope that the ongoing, complex, and at times vigorous
litigation will not again require your involvement, nor result in any belief on your part that any
legal position taken by Mr. Epstein's counsel conflicts with the Non-Prosecution Agreement
("NPA").
In order to avoid future misunderstandings, however, I would like to have a discussion
with you specifically about our ongoing obli ations as you understand them under the NPA. As
you know from past experience, and as
previously acknowledged in letters to my
partner Ken Starr (on December 4, 2007 an
r y Ann Sanchez (on December 19, 2007), the
language of ¶ 8 is "far from simple," and, in certain respects, subject to significant ambiguity.
I believe it is both necessary and appropriate to seek immediate clarification from the
government about its understanding of a few provisions in the NPA. It is likely by no fault of our
own that these issues will come before a judge or an independent third party, whose job it will be
to interpret the intent of the parties. In those circumstances, I think the court would most likely
turn to both of us and directly seek our views, as the drafters of the agreement, before rendering
its own opinion. Therefore, I believe it would bring about the finality that we both seek in a
much reduced time frame if we could discuss several of the more ambiguous provisions
contained in the NPA.
Chicago
Hong Kong
London
Los Angeles
Munich
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
EFTA01089219
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Ms. June 19, 2009 Page 2 One specific example comes to mind. First, we clearly understood during the course of negotiating the NPA, and believe that both the language of the NPA and our prior correspondence with your Office confirm, that the waiver of liability set forth in Paragraph 8 at most was designed to allow an identified individual the right to assert a single violation of a section 2255 predicate. The waiver of liability does not embrace situations where a particular plaintiff asserts multiple violations. Thus, compliance with paragraph 8's waiver of liability would require at most that Mr. Epstein stipulate to the existence of a single enumerated predicate that would entitle an otherwise eligible plaintiff to actual damages (or the applicable statutory minimum damages where actual damages fall short of that floor), leaving aside the issue of whether the waiver is applicable to contested litigation or only the cases where there would be agreed damage resolutions. In addition, if we believe that a predicate act is time-barred, as indeed we understand was the case with respect to all such acts in relation to one plaintiff, a proper construction of the waiver of liability would not preclude the reliance on a statute of limitations defense. Given your Office's prior acknowledgements that the language of the NPA is far from clear, we very much would appreciate an opportunity to discuss Paragraph 8 with you in the very near future in order to clarify a few pivotal questions raised by the NPA. I assure you that Mr. Epstein intends to abide fully by the terms of the NPA. And it is my sincere hope that our discussion can avert future risks that anything we do will cause you to believe that there has been a breach of the NPA. Finally, I enclose a letter in response to your June 15 letter in order to provide you with our perspective on the issues you raised. I hope our differing views on certain events over the past several years as reflected in my letter will not in anyway divert us from a common goal of having Mr. Epstein complete his NPA obligations without further tension with your Office. • ce Jay P. Lefkowitz, P.C. Enclosures EFTA01089220
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EFTA01089221
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KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP AND AHILINIED PARTNERSHIPS Jay R Lefkovatz, P.C. To Call Writer Directly: VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS United tates Attorney's Office Southern District of Florida June 19, 2009 Re: Jeffrey Epstein Dear Facsimile: We prepared this answer in response to your letter dated June 15, 2009 and before receiving your follow up letter of June 17, 2009. At this point it has been almost three years since the federal government first intervened in what was originally a matter investigated and charged by state prosecutorial authorities. It has been almost a year since Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in state court and began serving his sentence in county jail, pursuant to the terms and as a direct result of the federal Non-Prosecution Agreement (the "NPA"). When Mr. Epstein was sentenced, the U.S. Attorney promised me and my co-counsel that the United States Attorney's Office's involvement would cease with Mr. Epstein's execution of the NPA and incarceration in state custody. We were also promised that the federal government would not intervene in discretionary state or county decisions regarding the implementation of Mr. Epstein's sentence. We take this opportunity to address in detail each of the alleged instances you describe to support your position that Mr. Epstein has engaged in a pattern of breaching the NPA. Mr. Epstein's overriding commitment is, and has always been, to complete his jail sentence, fulfill his other obligations under the NPA, and reach final settlements of pending section 2255 cases with plaintiffs who are agreeable to such settlements. We respectfully submit (and support through documentary evidence) that there have been no past breaches of the NPA. There have been no "willful" breaches of the NPA. There has been no pattern of breaches of the NPA. As an initial matter, it is important to consider your letter of June 15 and its contents in context. Mr. Epstein has satisfied, and continues to satisfy, his obligations pursuant to the NPA. Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty to a registerable state offense. He has already registered as a sex Chicago Hong Kong London Los Angeles Munich San Francisco Washington, D.C. EFTA01089222
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Page 2
offender, and has served over 11 months of his sentence in county jail. While such a plea and
punishment were not otherwise sought by the State Attorney, Mr. Epstein agreed to the plea, the
sentence, and the obligation to register as a sex offender as a direct result of obligations he
agreed to undertake pursuant to the NPA. Furthermore, Mr. Epstein has already paid over
$300,000 in civil settlements and fees for the attorney representative, and has agreed to submit
issues regarding further fees to a Special Master pursuant to a proposal suggested by the attorney
representative himself. The claimants whose matters have already been settled were identified
by you as victims and, in one case, as a sign of good faith, Mr. Epstein paid a settlement to an
individual he had no recollection of ever meeting, solely because she appeared on your July 2008
list.
We are prepared to address each of the statements contained in your June 15 letter. First,
your statement that Mr. Epstein did not use his "best efforts" to enter his guilty plea and to be
sentenced is, respectfully, without merit. Exhibit 1, June 15, 2009 Letter at 2. The date of entry
of the state plea was deferred with the express written consent of United States Attorney Acosta,
who recognized and expressly provided us with the opportunity to pursue an independent
assessment of this matter by the Justice Department. The subsequent nine-month "delay" was a
direct result of the Justice Department's determination that it was appropriate to convene an
intense and time-consuming review. Thus, the delay was not dictated at all by Mr. Epstein, but
instead, by the review process agreed to and, if you recall, initiated by Mr. Acosta.
On June 23, 2008, the Justice Department concluded its final review and only seven days
later, Mr. Epstein promptly entered his plea (on June 30, 2008) and immediately began serving
his sentence. As the following timeline of events leading up to Mr. Epstein's entry of plea
makes clear, the facts do not support your conclusion that Mr. Epstein willfully breached the
NPA by delaying his sentence, and, instead, compellingly demonstrates that Mr. Epstein's
participation in high-level Department of Justice reviews cannot factually or legally ground a
claim that he "willfully" breached the NPA:
• The NPA, signed on September 24, 2007, provides that Mr. Epstein "begin serving his
sentence not later than January 4, 2008." See Exhibit 2, NPA1111.
•
On November 28 2007, Mr. Epstein's defense counsel contacted
to request a review of certain provisions of the NPA. We informed
the USAO of this request the very next day in a letter to Mr. Acosta. See Exhibit 3,
November 29, 2007 Letter from J. Lefkowitz to U.S. Attorney Acosta at 4.
• In a December 4, 2007 letter, Mr. Acosta stated that he supported the defense's appeal to
Washington. See Exhibit 4, December 4, 2007 letter from U.S. Attorney Acosta to K.
Starr with a copy to
at 5 ("I do not mind this Office's decision being
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June 19, 2009 Page 3 appealed to Washington, and have previously directed our prosecutors to delay filings in this case to provide defense counsel with the option of appealing our decision."). • On December 11, 2007, pursuant to Mr. Acosta's request, the defense team sent him submissions detailing the defense's concerns related to the NPA. See Exhibit 5, December 11, 2007 Letter from K. Stan• to U.S. Attorney Acosta. • On December 14, 2007, Mr. Acosta met with members of the defense team to discuss the serious issues raised about the NPA. • In a December 19, 2007 letter, Mr. Acosta stated that "the issues raised are important and must be fully vetted irrespective of timeliness concerns." See Exhibit 6, December 19, 2007 Letter from U.S. Attorney Aco Attorney Lilly Ann Sanchez at 3. He also stated that he had spoken with to ask that she review this matter and to expedite the process. Id. • In the beginning of January, 2008, Mr. Acosta and I discussed the need for further consideration of the issues raised by the defense. He postponed the plea and sentencing until the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) was finished with its review of the case. • In a February 29, 2008 email I sent to Mr. Acosta, I confirmed that that "there were significant irregularities with the deferred prosecution agreement" and that he would ask CEOS to evaluate the matter. I also confirmed Mr. Acosta's agreement to st ne the state plea deadline until after the matter was reviewed. On that same day, responded in writing as follows: "Please be assured at it as not, and never has been, this Office's intent to interfere or restrict the 'review process' for either Mr. Epstein or CEOS. I leave it to you and CEOS to figure out how best to proceed and will await the results of that process." See Exhibits 7 and 8 February 29, 2008 Emails to U.S. Attorney Acosta and from • Given that CEOS determined that it would not review many of the defense's objections and that its review would be limited on the rest of the objections, CEOS's decision, rendered on May 15, 2008, left open the need for a more thorough review of critical issues by others at the Justice Department. • In a May 28, 2008 email from to myselt further postponed the deadline to plead until the Deputy Attorney General's Office (DAG) com leted its review. See Exhibit 9, May 28, 2008 Email from to J. Lefkowitz. EFTA01089224
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June 19, 2009 Page 4 • A final letter of determination was not issued by the Department of Justice until June 23, 2008. • Just one week after that date, Mr. Epstein promptly entered his plea and immediately began serving his state sentence on June 30, 2008. While you state that a breach occurred because Mr. Epstein and the defense team did not provide you with the state plea documents until the last business day before the plea, neither Mr. Epstein nor his counsel bear sole responsibility for timing of the delivery of these documents. It was the responsibility of the State Attorney's Office to provide the defense with the plea agreement. Defense counsel did not receive the plea agreement from the State until 10:00 A.M. on June 27 2008 the Friday before the plea). See Exhibit 10, June 27, 2008 Email from to J. Goldberger. Once the plea agreement was reviewed by Mr. Epstein's defense team, Mr. Goldberger sent it to you that same afternoon. At 5:55 P.M. on June 27, 2008, following your receipt of the agreement sent to you by Mr. Goldberger, Messrs. Black and Goldberger received a responsive letter from you alleging that the plea agreement violas the NPA. See Exhibit 11, June 27/28, 2008 Email String between Assistant U.S. Attorney and R. Black and J. Goldberger (attaching Notice of Non-Compliance). Second, you state that language contained in the first draft of the plea agreement proposed by the State violated the NPA, because it called for community control in lieu of jail. Exhibit 1, June 15, 2009 Letter at 2. You now suggest that this "error" evidences Mr. Epstein's alleged efforts to undermine the NPA. I respectfully submit that you are mistaken in both cases. The language in the first draft of the plea agreement was prepared by the State and, as stated above, it was not sent to the defense until the very day that it was sent to you. Moreover, as Mr. Goldberger confirmed to you in a telephone conversation on the same day that he received your June 27 letter, the plea agreement, as originally drafted by the State, would have resulted in the exact same 12-month and 6-month consecutive jail sentences, followed by one year of community control, as was required by the NPA and ultimately imposed on Mr. Epstein. Although defense counsel asked the State to change the language of the plea agreement to alleviate your concerns, the same exact sentence and period of incarceration as required by the NPA would have been imposed on Mr. Epstein had the language of the State's first draft been allowed to a 1 See Exhibit 11, June 27/28, 2008 Email String between Assistant U.S. Attorney and R. Black and J. Goldberger (confirming a telephone conversation between the parties on June 27 that the state plea agree in compliance with the NPA and indicating a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney to modify the language in the state plea agreement); see also Exhibit 12, the initial version and the signed version of the state plea agreements. EFTA01089225
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June 19, 2009 Page 5 The bottom line here is that while Florida counsel for Mr. Epstein fully believed that the initial language in the State's draft would result in a sentence identical to the mandates of the NPA, changes were made solely to conform to your requests. Neither the USAO or the administration of federal criminal justice suffered any prejudice: lawyers often make linguistic alterations of form; we did so here. The changes were made in short order, namely, during the Friday and Saturday before Mr. Epstein's state plea; the plea and plea agreement completely complied with the NPA as did Mr. Epstein's sentence; and there was neither a breach, nor harm. Moreover, all communications were through counsel. Mr. Epstein was not a party to these communications and in no way can be considered, factually or legally, to have committed a "willful" breach of the NPA in this regard. Third, you state that defense "counsel obstructed [your] ability to abide by [your] obligations to notify the victims of the outcome of the federal investigation." Exhibit 1, June 15, 2009 Letter at 2. We believe that this statement misconstrues the intentions and conduct of the defense team and, does not support any charge of "obstruction" against Mr. Epstein, as would be required to sanction him for a "willful" breach of the NPA. In October 2007, a full nine months before Mr. Epstein was sentenced, we first raised the issue of the notification. On October 10, 2007, I stated in a letter to Mr. Acosta that the defense team did not believe "it was the government's place to be co-counsel to the identified individuals," and reasonably proposed that the alleged victims be contacted by the selected attorney representative. See Exhibit 13, October 10, 2007 Letter from J. Lefkowitz to U.S. Attorney Acosta at 4-5. Then, on November 28, 2007, you sent defense counsel the proposed victim notification letter indicating that the alleged victims had a federal right to be notified of the resolution of this matter pursuant to the Crime Victims' Rights under § 3771. Se Ex i 14, November 29, 2007 Draft Victim Notification Letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney . Mr. Epstein's counsel objected to your draft letter and the proposed method and procedure for notifying the alleged victims and challenged whether you were in fact obligated to notify these individuals pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3771. Those objections were made in a timely and appropriate manner and our dialogue regarding notification issues continued. As you know, the notification letter was not finalized for several months. The key point here is that our objections to the letter were made in good faith and were well-founded. After all, on December 6, 2007, Mr. Acosta agreed to many of our objections and adopted several of our modifications to resolve problems raised by the draft notification letter. See Exhibit 15, December 6, 2007 Letter from U.S. Attorney Acosta to J. Lefkowitz. This fact confirms both the good-faith nature of our objections and that neither Mr. Epstein nor his counsel could be considered to have violated the NPA by raising those objections in the first place. Fourth, Mr. Epstein did not, as you stated, refuse "to fulfill promptly Mr. Epstein's obligation to secure the services of an attorney representative for the victims." Exhibit 1, June EFTA01089226
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June 19, 2009 Page 6 15, 2009 Letter at 2. It was the United States' obligation to select a suitable attorney representative, subject to the good-faith approval of Mr. Epstein's counsel. See Exhibit 2, NPA ¶ 7. Indeed, due to a concern we had raised, your Office specificall cd the procedure to select an attorney representative and delegated that task to See Exhibit 16, Addendum to NPA ¶ 7A. Again, the fact that your Office accommo ate our concerns validates their legitimacy and undermines any claim that the NPA was breached by raising those concerns with you. To the contrary, Mr. Epstein executed the Addendum in an attempt to resolve outstanding, high) unorthodox and complex issues at the intersection of civil and criminal law. A letter to (authored by then dated October 25, 2007 followed. See Exhibit 17, October 25, 2007 Letter to Once Mr. Podhurst's firm was selected by MIMI Mr. Epstein did not object to the selection. Moreover, as you have acknowledged to the court, the open issues involving the attorney representative portions of the N were not finally resolved until September 3, 2008. See Exhibit 18, December 22, 2008 Supplemental Declaration at 3 ¶ 9. Only five days later, on September 8, 2008, I sent a letter to Robert Josefsberg advising him that Mr. Epstein would pay his fees pursuant to the NPA for his role as an attorney representative. See Exhibit 19, September 8, 2008 Letter from J. Lefkowitz to R. Josefsberg. Furthermore, in an effort to comply with the obligations under the NPA, Mr. Epstein already has paid Mr. Podhurst's firm over $160,000 in legal fees, despite significant concerns over the scope of the work for which he is billing Mr. Epstein, and has agreed with Mr. Josefsberg's proposal that a Special Master be empowered to resolve any fee related issues that the Podhurst firm and Mr. Epstein's civil counsel cannot resolve. See Exhibit 20, June 15, 2009 Letter from Robert Critton to Kathy Ezell. There is nothing about the exchanges between counsel and the USAO regarding the attorney representative that even begins to approach a "willful" breach by Mr. Epstein. Fifth, you suggest that Mr. Epstein willfully breached the NPA because of the actions of Mr. Tein and Mr. Goldberger, whom you state failed to approve the victim notification letter that contained incorrect information. See Exhibit 1, June 15, 2009 Letter at 2. The incorrect information in the letter was a proposed unilateral modification to the NPA without prior approval by Mr. Epstein or any member of the defense team. It was only first suggested by your Office in a letter from Mr. Acosta on December 19, 2007. We never agreed to that language. In fact, I personally raised several objections to the suggested modification in my letter to Mr. Acosta, dated December 21, 2007. See Exhibit 21, December 21, 2007 Letter from J. Lefkowitz to U.S. Attorney Acosta. I personally became aware of the inclusion of that language on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 and discussed the matter with you immediate) . See Exhibits 22 and 23, August 13 and 15, 2008 Letters from Assistant U.S. Attorney to J. Lefkowitz (confirming that the "December modification" is not a part of the NP gain, that oversight was not a willful breach or an expression of intent to violate the terms of the Agreement, but instead represented the efforts of counsel, acting in good faith, in an attempt to insure that the letter contained only previously agreed-upon language. EFTA01089227
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June 19, 2009
Page 7
Sixth, you raise the issue of a delayed withdrawal of a motion to quash. See Exhibit I,
June 15, 2009 Letter at 2-3. There is no motion to quash that still remains pending. The fact that
the motion was not withdrawn for some time was merely due to an administrative oversight that
has long been remedied, but at no time did it prejudice the Government in any way. Nor did it
result from an effort by myself or co-counsel to gain some tactical advantage. Furthermore, no
effort was made by any counsel to seek a judicial decision on the pending motion. The motion
had no adverse effect on the Government, and the delay in its withdrawal is legally and factually
unrelated to the type of material and willful breach that alone could warrant remedies—not least
of all because Mr. Epstein has suffered irreversible prejudice by complying with the core
provisions of the NPA. Again, he has been imprisoned, he has pled guilty, he is registered, he
has paid sums to claimants, all to comply with his obligations under the NPA.
Seventh, you state that additional issues arose in November regarding the issuance of
work release to Mr. Epstein. Exhibit 1, June 15, 2009 Letter at 3. We have previously reviewed
this very matter with you and other individuals in your Office in November 2008. At that time,
Mr. Roy Black met with you,
in Miami to
review the work release issue.
mong of er sign' want ocuments shown to you, we presented
you with your own email in which you had previously acknowledged that the sheriff had
discretion in the matter. See Exhibit 24, July 3, 2008 Email from Assistant U.S. Attorney
to
("If Mr. Epstein is truly eligible for the [work release] program, we
have no objection to him being treated like any other similarly situated prisoner . . .").
Furthermore, Mr. Acosta, as already stated, had previously assured me and other counsel that the
USA° would not interfere in the ordinary implementation of discretionary administrative
decisions by state or county officials. We believe we were under no obligation (in the NPA or
anywhere else) to notify you of such discretionary and ordinary state-made decisions, and the
fact that your Office confirmed that Mr. Epstein was entitled to the same discretionary
administrative decisions as other similarly situated inmates fundamentally undermines any claim
that Mr. Epstein breached the NPA in connection with the state and county officials' decision. In
any event, after thoroughly reviewing and evaluating Mr. Epstein's application, the Palm Beach
County Sheriff's Office properly exercised its discretion, in full compliance with its stated
requirements, policies and procedures, to grant Mr. Epstein work release. In addition, after the
Sheriff's Office received a multi-page letter from you to =ME,
which recited the very
allegations of errors on Mr. Epstein's work release application to which you refer in your latest
letter, each allegation was fully reviewed, and the Sheriff's office found its initial decision
appropriate.
Eighth, it is both unreasonable and unjustifiable to hold Mr. Epstein responsible—never
mind declare him in breach—with regard to
nunc pro tunc order. Exhibit 1,
June 15, 2009 Letter at 3. Neither Mr. Epstein nor defense counsel had anything to do with and
certainly no prior knowledge of this order. Defense counsel only learned of it after you brought
it to our attention. The facts are as follows: the Department of Corrections requires an order
EFTA01089228
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June 19, 2009 Page 8 placing someone on community control before the Department of Corrections will supervise that person. a, the retired judge that took Mr. Epstein's plea, inadvertently neglected to enter the order placing Mr. Epstein on Community Control 1. When learned of this, she properly entered the order nunc pro tunc to the date of the plea. See Exhibit 25, Order of Community Control. If you will note on the 3-page court event form, circled at the top of page 2, is "C.C.1" (community control 1). Mr. Epstein was properly placed on community control 1 on the day of his plea to begin only after he completes his jail sentence, and the nunc pro tunc order simply ratifies the oral pronouncement made by the court at the time of the plea. Given that the NPA expressly provides that Mr. Epstein is to serve a sentence of 12 months in "community control consecutive to his two terms in county jail," Exhibit 2, NPA ¶ 2(b), your assertion that the inclusion of community control "directly contradicted the terms of the" NPA is incorrect. Finally, the motion to dismiss that was the topic of discussion on June 12 has been withdrawn. As indicated in the letter I sent you on June 15, we have adopted an internal screening process aimed at eliminating future concerns about anything that reasonably could be considered a breach of the NPA. See Exhibit 26, June 15, 2009 Letter from J. Lefkowitz to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mr. Epstein has directed all counsel to make certain that no filing could be construed h of the NPA. Furthermore, we proposed a supplemental new process, as stated in my June 15 letter to you, that would have provided you, if you chose, the opportunity to review any such filing before it is submitted to the court so that you may determine whether or not it constitutes a breach. That being said, I wish to reiterate our firm belief that the NPA allowed Mr. Epstein the right to contest litigation whenever an express waiver of all other state, federal or common law claims or the right to bring contested litigation in the future was not sufficiently or correctly pleaded. As you know, we spent several weeks negotiating the language of the NPA with you and Mr. Acosta. We firmly believe that the motion to dismiss that was recently filed (and then promptly withdrawn) did not constitute a violation. First, Paragraph 8 of the NPA clearly limits those who may benefit from any waivers by Mr. Epstein to an "identified individual" who "elects to proceed exclusively under 18 USC 2255, and agrees to waive any other claim for damages, whether pursuant to state, federal, or common law". Exhibit 2, NPA ¶ 8. More is required of a plaintiff than to simply allege, as did Jane Doe 101, that she "exclusively seeks civil remedies pursuant to 18 USC 2255." Exhibit 27, Amended Complaint ¶ 24. Such an averment satisfies only the exclusivity portion of the twin conditions set forth in the NPA at ¶ 8. The word "and" followed by the requirement of an affirmative waiver of any other claims, federal, state, or common law mandates an additional affirmative act by the plaintiff. No such waiver was filed or even pled. Jane Doe 101 did no more than restate that her complaint in civil action no 9:09-cv-80591-KAM was only for 2255 damages. She never affirmatively waived all future claims in state or federal court, as required by the NPA. EFTA01089229
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June 19, 2009 Page 9 Because of this threshold issue, Jane Doe 101 did not, through the attorney representative, satisfy the NPA ¶ 8 requirements.' While Mr. Epstein's counsel still believe for these reasons that the motion did not conflict with Mr. Epstein's obligations under the NPA, the motion was in relevant part withdrawn at Mr. Epstein's insistence—further demonstrating that Mr. Epstein has prioritized his desire to avoid contentious additional litigation with the USAO over this matter. In short, our good-faith efforts to raise litigation issues will be more carefully scrutinized in the future as to limit the possibility of being construed by your Office as supporting a notice that Mr. Epstein is in "willful" breach. Issues regarding the scope of the ¶ 8 waivers are unorthodox and even unprecedented. They result in part from the NPA being executed before you identified the individuals listed, see Exhibit 2, NPA ¶ 7, and, importantly, given the evolution of the civil litigation, before any joint statement as required by the terms of the NPA was provided to Mr. Josefsberg. Nevertheless, as we stated on June 15, we had intended to provide you with future filings in advance so that we could discuss their interaction with the NPA before rather than after any filing, However given your rejection of that procedure, in a good faith attempt to avoid future conflict, we would nevertheless hope to clarify some of the more ambiguous parts of ¶ 8 of the agreement with you as soon as possible. To repeat, it is Mr. Epstein's overriding intent to fulfill his obligations under the NPA -- an intent we as his attorneys will do everything in our power to effectuate. The facts demonstrate that Mr. Epstein has clearly not committed any breach of the NPA, much less a willful breach. As we have reiterated and as has been proven by Mr. Epstein's own actions, Mr. Epstein has no intention of breaching the NPA and has never had any such intention. Although you claim that Mr. Epstein received the benefits of the NPA and the Government only its burdens, I believe the reality is to the contrary. Mr. Epstein has suffered significant and in-eversible prejudice: he has been imprisoned in a county jail for almost a year, he has pleaded guilty to a state felony that required sex registration and has, in fact, registered as a sex offender, he accepted civil burdens in his ongoing litigation that may result in millions of dollars of future payments, he has settled cases that could be won, in deference to the NPA and he is paying and That Jane Doe 101 did not meet the threshold requirements for the imposition of the waiver of liability portion of Paragraph 8 of the NPA is demonstrated by the filings of Jane Doe II in 09-80469-CIV-Marra, a federal lawsuit filed in March, 2009 seeking "exclusively 2255" damages, while Jane Doe 11 already bad a pending state court suit filed in July of 2008 seeking damages against Epstein for sexual assault and conspiracy. Jane Doe II in her federal complaint alleged Epstein could "not contest liability for claims brought exclusively pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §2255". Exhibit 27, Amended Complaint 1 24. In her response to Epstein's Motion to Dismiss in which Epstein challenged the "exclusivity" claim, she argued at page 7 that "Epstein appeared to be violating the agreement . . (NPA)". However, her attorney withdrew that claim at the June 12, 2009 hearing (and in her subsequent Amended Response) agreeing that the state filing negated the "exclusivity" of the federal 2255 lawsuit. On the current record, nothing prevents Jane Doe 101 from filing a parallel state court claim. EFTA01089230
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June 19, 2009 Page 10 will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for his adversaries to pursue him in court. The Government may have endured some delays and administrative costs due to certain of its own its decision — such as to evaluate the Sheriff's exercise of discretionary authority in implementing the Sheriff's own work release program —but neither the Government nor any civil plaintiff has suffered any harm, any prejudice, or any disadvantage as a result of the events you have identified. We signed a contract -- the NPA -- with you in good faith, and in exchange, Mr. Epstein gave consideration that cannot be returned (12 months of his freedom and his reputation). He is legally entitled to its benefits. He committed no "willful breach." As such, we believe it would constitute both a contractual and constitutional error to seek further remedy or to in any way withdraw from the NPA. We will continue to make our best efforts to communicate with you about any potential problems and hope, in the interest of fairness, you will do the same. Jay . Lefkowitz, P.C. Enclosures EFTA01089231
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Exhibit 1 EFTA01089232