What is document EFTA00015003?

This is an internal email exchange from March 24, 2019, between prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). It documents the active federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, including witness interviews in Florida and negotiations with attorney Robbie Kaplan about a potential witness.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document mentions Jeffrey Epstein as the subject of investigation, attorney Robbie Kaplan (who was negotiating on behalf of a witness), and an unnamed Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption Unit at SDNY. It also references Florida victims' attorneys from a decade prior and multiple witnesses.

What does this document reveal about the Epstein investigation?

The document reveals that SDNY was actively building its case against Epstein in early 2019, months before his July arrest. Prosecutors were interviewing witnesses, coordinating with victims' attorneys from the original Florida investigation, and negotiating witness proffers. It also shows that at least one key witness was concerned about their own legal exposure, requiring delicate negotiations about an 'attorney proffer.'

Who is Robbie Kaplan and what was her role?

Robbie Kaplan is a prominent attorney who later became co-designer of the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program. In this document, she appears to be representing a witness who was concerned about potential legal exposure, and was negotiating the terms under which that witness might provide information to prosecutors.

Why was the Public Corruption Unit handling this case?

The SDNY's Public Corruption Unit handled the Epstein prosecution. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman declined to explain at the July 2019 press conference why this unit specifically was assigned to the case. The Public Corruption Unit typically handles cases involving abuse of public trust or corruption.

What is document EFTA00015003?

This is an internal email exchange from March 24, 2019, between prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). It documents the active federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, including witness interviews in Florida and negotiations with attorney Robbie Kaplan about a potential witness.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document mentions Jeffrey Epstein as the subject of investigation, attorney Robbie Kaplan (who was negotiating on behalf of a witness), and an unnamed Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption Unit at SDNY. It also references Florida victims' attorneys from a decade prior and multiple witnesses.

What does this document reveal about the Epstein investigation?

The document reveals that SDNY was actively building its case against Epstein in early 2019, months before his July arrest. Prosecutors were interviewing witnesses, coordinating with victims' attorneys from the original Florida investigation, and negotiating witness proffers. It also shows that at least one key witness was concerned about their own legal exposure, requiring delicate negotiations about an 'attorney proffer.'

Who is Robbie Kaplan and what was her role?

Robbie Kaplan is a prominent attorney who later became co-designer of the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program. In this document, she appears to be representing a witness who was concerned about potential legal exposure, and was negotiating the terms under which that witness might provide information to prosecutors.

Why was the Public Corruption Unit handling this case?

The SDNY's Public Corruption Unit handled the Epstein prosecution. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman declined to explain at the July 2019 press conference why this unit specifically was assigned to the case. The Public Corruption Unit typically handles cases involving abuse of public trust or corruption.

EFTA00015003

Internal DOJ email from March 2019 showing SDNY prosecutors actively investigating Jeffrey Epstein, interviewing witnesses in Florida, and negotiating with attorney Robbie Kaplan about a potential witness proffer.

This email exchange from the Public Corruption Unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York reveals the active federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein months before his July 2019 arrest. Prosecutors discuss interviewing witnesses at the Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF) law office in Fort Lauderdale, coordinating with attorneys who represented Florida victims a decade earlier, and negotiating with prominent attorney Robbie Kaplan about an 'attorney proffer' for a witness concerned about legal exposure. The document shows the federal investigation was well underway by March 2019, with prosecutors making 'baby steps' toward securing testimony from key witnesses.

Key Highlights

•Federal prosecutors interviewed two witnesses in Fort Lauderdale in March 2019, four months before Epstein's arrest
•Robbie Kaplan was negotiating with prosecutors about a witness who was 'concerned about her exposure' - suggesting potential legal liability
•The case was being handled by SDNY's Public Corruption Unit, which also handled the eventual July 2019 indictment
•Prosecutors were coordinating with an attorney who had represented Florida victims during the original 2006-2007 investigation

Frequently Asked Questions

Books for Further Reading

Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Julie K. Brown

Investigative journalism that broke the Epstein case open

Filthy Rich: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

James Patterson

Bestselling account of Epstein's crimes and network

Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA

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EFTA00015003

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From: ' To:' Cc:' II Subject: RE: Epstein Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2019 20:08:43 +0000 Importance: Normal Thanks, and sounds good. And IM and I chatted a bit about his conversation with Kaplan — M a let me know if/when you get back to her, and happy to circle up to talk further thereafter. From: Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2019 3:53 PM To: Cc: Subject: RE: Epstein It was good, for the most part. Making progress. and I interviewed two witnesses on Friday at the BSF office in Fort Lauderdale. The third witness we were supposed to interview decided not to come at the last minute, because she decided she didn't want to be involved in the case after all this time has passed. She was not someone we were focused on at this stage, so while we may circle back at another time to see if she comes in, right now it's fine. We had a call with an attorney who represented FL victims a decade ago, and we're coordinating with him to schedule follow up interviews with two of the witnesses who were approached and said they weren't sure how the civil case their lawyer handled affected if they could talk to us. had a call with Robbie Kaplan right before the trip, and the upshot is we are making baby steps towards an interview with . They are concerned about her exposure, so we are discussing ways of addressing that, and the next step will likely be an attorney proffer. From: Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2019 3:40 PM To: Cc: Subject: Epstein How did the rest of the trip go? Deputy Chief, Public Corruption Unit U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Tel. >; EFTA00015003