A US House committee has concluded that Jeffrey Epstein's crimes after his 2005 arrest could have been prevented if investigators and federal prosecutors had handled the case differently, pointing to failures and the financier's alleged influence over powerful individuals.
\n\nA report released on Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee said Epstein had benefited from a combination of poor judgement by prosecutors and what it described as his "pervasive and wide-reaching influence".
\n\n"The Committee finds that the crimes committed by Epstein after 2005 [when he was first arrested] could have been prevented and justice served had it not been for the failures of investigators and federal prosecutors in South Florida and Washington DC," the report said. "While some of these failures involved an exercise in poor judgement by the [Miami] USAO [US Attorney’s Office], others appeared to be the result of Epstein’s pervasive and wide-reaching influence."
\n\nThe committee examined the controversial plea agreement Epstein secured in 2008 following lengthy negotiations with prosecutors in Florida. Under the deal, he pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution and procuring minors for prostitution.
\n\nHe was sentenced to 18 months in prison but served 13 months, much of it under a work-release arrangement.
\n\nThe…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world
