I try to call balls and strikes as I see them and I really hope that President Trump is watching this travesty of justice carefully.
First off, I am not defending R. Kelly although he, like everyone else, should be given the presumption of innocence and due process before we execute him in the court of public opinion. He is currently facing charges of allegedly having forced sex with at least 4 underage girls and there is supposedly video to prove it.
What is scarier to me is the way in which power and money screws up the best criminal justice system currently on planet Earth. Nobody can deny whether you work inside the criminal justice system or outside of it, that power, money, and influence can tip the scales of justice on the side of power, money, and influence.
Case in point is brought to us by great investigative journalists at the Miami Herald. You can read the whole story here and it is quite a story. I am not going to repeat it here but give you the highlights or lowlights.
The Miami Herald’s investigation centers around the crimes of multi-millionaire hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein is surrounded by a huge sphere of influence and friends who, according to the Miami Herald, include Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump to name a few.
Epstein was suspected of having sex with over 100 middle school and high school-aged girls in his Palm Beach Mansion and other locations from approximately 2001 to 2006. There are so many more horrible details to the crimes and again I encourage you to read the multi-part Miami Herald investigation if you have time. It is horrifying.
While the crimes were horrible enough, it was the illegal plea deal that was orchestrated by now Trump Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta that is just as horrible. Acosta, at the time of the crimes, was the top federal prosecutor in the state of Florida.
Before it even fell into federal hands, the Palm Beach Police Department was investigating the case and at one point, Epstein enlisted the help of the famed attorney and Harvard Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz. It was after Dershowitz showed up that the local detectives and victims were being harassed and investigated to try to discredit any and all associated with the claims against Epstein. Dershowitz denied any involvement in any of the shenanigans.
[caption id="attachment_1196" align="alignright" width="225"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Epstein smirking in Palm Beach police photo.[/caption]
As soon as the lead Palm Beach detective realized that the local States Attorney was trying to minimize the charges against Epstein, he and the Chief of Police referred the case to the FBI which opened their own investigation in 2006.
In October of 2007, Alexander Acosta met with Epstein’s defense attorney, Jay Lefkowitz in a Palm Beach Marriot and not at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Epstein was the top federal prosecutor in the State of Florida and the deal he worked out for Epstein was abominable.
[caption id="attachment_1195" align="alignleft" width="232"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Current Trump administration Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta[/caption]
Although evidence supported the sex abuse of very possibly over 100 under-aged girls, Acosta worked out a deal where Epstein would be immune to any federal sex-traffic prosecution which would have landed him in prison for life. In exchange, Epstein would plead guilty to a single State charge of solicitation of prostitution (a misdemeanor) be sentenced to 18 months in the County Jail which really worked out to 13 months in a private wing of the jail, with his own paid security and 12 hours of each day spent outside the jail walls in “work release.”
This deal that current Trump administration Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta worked out for Epstein in 2007 has very recently (On February 21, 2019) been declared illegal by federal judge Kenneth Mirra for violating the Crime Victims Rights Act. The judge slammed Acosta’s team for failing to consult or even inform victims about the results of the plea deal. The untold number of victims were kept in the dark so that nobody was aware of the extent of this predator’s crimes.
In the interest of full disclosure, I consider myself a conservative by nature. I am a U.S. Army Veteran and spent years after my military service as a law enforcement officer. I have voted Republican, Democratic and even Independent over the years and I am completely appalled at the stink of this case and the stink of the prosecution.
I am not blaming President Trump or former President Bill Clinton or Prince Andrew for having an association with this guy. They may not have known about his disgusting practices but I do know who is President now and I do know that a big reason why this predator is not in prison where he belongs is because of the deal worked out for him by now labor secretary, Alex Acosta. I personally don’t know how this guy can live with himself as a prosecutor and I have met some really good ones over the years.
President Trump, I voted for you. I believe that you have done great things for this country. While you are in Hanoi hoping to minimize the threat of North Korea, could you please also help minimize the threat to our young girls and ditch Acosta while re-opening, if you can, the investigation into Epstein to help somehow bring some sort of justice to his many victims.
By the way, if R. Kelly is convicted of only one of the crimes he allegedly committed his punishment will be 10 times as severe as this rich sicko from Florida and by the way don’t expect Kelly to get such a great plea deal, nobody should.
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Clik here to view.
Epstein smirking in Palm Beach police photo.[/caption]
As soon as the lead Palm Beach detective realized that the local States Attorney was trying to minimize the charges against Epstein, he and the Chief of Police referred the case to the FBI which opened their own investigation in 2006.
In October of 2007, Alexander Acosta met with Epstein’s defense attorney, Jay Lefkowitz in a Palm Beach Marriot and not at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Epstein was the top federal prosecutor in the State of Florida and the deal he worked out for Epstein was abominable.
[caption id="attachment_1195" align="alignleft" width="232"]Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Current Trump administration Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta[/caption]
Although evidence supported the sex abuse of very possibly over 100 under-aged girls, Acosta worked out a deal where Epstein would be immune to any federal sex-traffic prosecution which would have landed him in prison for life. In exchange, Epstein would plead guilty to a single State charge of solicitation of prostitution (a misdemeanor) be sentenced to 18 months in the County Jail which really worked out to 13 months in a private wing of the jail, with his own paid security and 12 hours of each day spent outside the jail walls in “work release.”
This deal that current Trump administration Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta worked out for Epstein in 2007 has very recently (On February 21, 2019) been declared illegal by federal judge Kenneth Mirra for violating the Crime Victims Rights Act. The judge slammed Acosta’s team for failing to consult or even inform victims about the results of the plea deal. The untold number of victims were kept in the dark so that nobody was aware of the extent of this predator’s crimes.
In the interest of full disclosure, I consider myself a conservative by nature. I am a U.S. Army Veteran and spent years after my military service as a law enforcement officer. I have voted Republican, Democratic and even Independent over the years and I am completely appalled at the stink of this case and the stink of the prosecution.
I am not blaming President Trump or former President Bill Clinton or Prince Andrew for having an association with this guy. They may not have known about his disgusting practices but I do know who is President now and I do know that a big reason why this predator is not in prison where he belongs is because of the deal worked out for him by now labor secretary, Alex Acosta. I personally don’t know how this guy can live with himself as a prosecutor and I have met some really good ones over the years.
President Trump, I voted for you. I believe that you have done great things for this country. While you are in Hanoi hoping to minimize the threat of North Korea, could you please also help minimize the threat to our young girls and ditch Acosta while re-opening, if you can, the investigation into Epstein to help somehow bring some sort of justice to his many victims.
By the way, if R. Kelly is convicted of only one of the crimes he allegedly committed his punishment will be 10 times as severe as this rich sicko from Florida and by the way don’t expect Kelly to get such a great plea deal, nobody should.
Find Chicago History The Stranger Side on FACEBOOK
Find Ray Johnson on Twitter and Google+
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