By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An internal Justice Department investigation has concluded that former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta exercised “poor judgment” by allowing financier Jeffrey Epstein to enter a non-prosecution agreement over alleged sex crimes, but cleared him and other prosecutors of any professional misconduct in their handling of the case.
In a statement, the Justice Department said that when Acosta let Epstein enter a non-prosecution agreement in 2008 that spared him from federal sex trafficking charges, he “failed to make certain that the state of Florida intended to and would notify victims identified through the federal investigation about the state plea hearing.”
The controversial 2008 agreement with Epstein has come under intense scrutiny in recent years following an investigation by the Miami Herald. Under the terms of the deal, Epstein pleaded guilty to lesser state charges and served a brief stint in jail where he was granted daily work release.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
