One year ago, thanks to legislation passed in FL, over 150 pages of grand jury transcripts and videos of witness interviews regarding the 2008 state investigation of Jeffrey Epstein were made public.
In June of that same year, Epstein pleaded guilty to the state charges: one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He is sentenced to register as a sex offender, pay restitution, and serve 18 months in jail... but was allowed to go to his office during the day.
Around the same time that the state grand jury indicted Epstein, a federal grand jury in Florida had been impaneled and heard testimony.
There was a proposed indictment against him for conspiracy and sex trafficking.
That indictment was dropped when the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida inked a secret non-prosecution agreement with Epstein that resolved those possible charges against him and gave immunity to four female co-conspirators.
Maxwell was NOT one of those four female co-conspirators, but she is currently attempting to get her conviction overturned at SCOTUS by arguing that the NPA does in fact apply to her.
At the detention hearing on Dec 30, we learned that prosecutors had a 2-count indictment against Cole from a "local grand jury," meaning one empaneled by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia—not one empaneled by the federal court.
🧵Richman v. United States
(Arctic Haze search warrant material case)
ORDER: DOJ must get a search warrant for Arctic Haze/Richman materials seized from Richman in 2017, 2019, and 2020.
And that includes materials under seal in the EDVA and within DOJ "component" offices.
Backstory:
Just days after United States v. Comey was dismissed for Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan being unlawfully appointed, Daniel Richman, who is Person 3 from the indictment in the Comey case, filed a civil case against the DOJ.
Richman wants the property he volunteered to DOJ in 2017 and the materials that were seized from him pursuant to the four Arctic Haze search warrants in 2019 and 2020 to be returned to him.
A D.C. Superior Court grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Cole for the same two counts charged in the criminal complaint—18 U.S.C. 844(d) and 844(i).
This indictment has not been filed publicly but was presented to the judge yesterday.
2/5
Federal prosecutors using a local grand jury in this way is a new thing in DC. It came about thanks to the Trump Admin's push to neutralize criminal activity in the capital.
But the issue is currently before the Court of Appeals.