Thread by @jaketapper

1/ What's the next shoe to drop in Epstein case?

A former Assistant US Attorney I know says he'd be surprised if SDNY isn't right now looking into child pornography charges against him under Section 2252A

law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…

2/ Recall the 10-page memo from prosecutors noting the discovery of an "extraordinary volume of photographs of nude and partially-nude
young women or girls" -- some of whom "appear to be...underage "

3/ "... including at least one girl who, according to her counsel, was underage at the time the relevant photographs were taken." Some photos were in a locked safe along with CDs w hand-written labels such as ‘Young [Name] + [Name],’ ‘Misc nudes 1,’ and ‘Girl pics nude.'"

4/ The former AUSA, who was lead prosecutor on dozens of trafficking and child pornography cases, says child pornography cases are much easier to make "because a defendant cannot cross-examine a picture..."

5/ ...Case is made with expert testimony - photo is of X, she was Y age, here's how it was distributed. AUSA also noted that child pornography cases can "lead to harsher sentences because each image distributed carries its own mandatory minimum sentence."

6/ Then there's the question of why it took SDNY to do this. Why didn't law enforcement -- both FBI and Florida -- get Epstein's computers during the previous investigation?

7/ Recall that @jkbjournalist reported: "When police raided Epstein’s Palm Beach estate, they found all his computers had been removed, suggesting that someone in (Palm Beach state attorney) Krischer’s office had tipped off Epstein about the search warrants."

8/ Epstein butler Janusz Banasiak later testified that Epstein’s assistant Adriana Mucinska Ross and someone else were told before Palm Beach cops arrived to "remove the multiple computers in the house."

miamiherald.com/article2325958…

9/ More @jkbjournalist: "Krischer never issued a subpoena for the computers, even though it was known they were in the hands of Epstein’s attorneys by that time, the lead detective, Joseph Recarey, told the Herald."

10/ The former AUSA tells me Acosta/FBI never obtained Epstein's computers before the case was resolved with the controversial plea agreement. "One of my HUGE problems with how Acosta handled the original case was that they never got a search warrant for his computers..."

11/ "Instead they tried to use a Grand Jury subpoena which was never fully litigated. They never got access to his computer files. Literally 'get the computer' was one of the most basic tenets taught by Main Justice Civil Rights Division on how to prosecute underage trafficking..

12/"...at the time. I know because I received the instruction."

Anyway that is what MIGHT be coming next per this former AUSA.