An internal SDNY email from February 2019 showing prosecutors preparing briefing materials on Jeffrey Epstein for U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, five months before Epstein's public arrest.

This is an internal email chain from the Southern District of New York's Public Corruption Unit dated February 19, 2019. It shows prosecutors coordinating briefing memos for U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman on the Epstein case. This is significant because it reveals the SDNY was actively investigating Epstein months before his July 2019 arrest—contradicting any notion that the prosecution was hastily assembled after the Miami Herald's reporting. The email mentions '1 St. Andrew's Plaza,' the SDNY's headquarters.

Key Highlights

• •Shows SDNY's Epstein investigation was active in February 2019, five months before Epstein's July 6, 2019 arrest
• •U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman was receiving direct briefings on the case from his Public Corruption Unit
• •Prosecutors were preparing 'detailed briefing memos' suggesting substantial case development was underway
• •The Public Corruption Unit—not a sex crimes unit—was handling the Epstein investigation

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