Epstein case: judge agrees to keep documents on 2008 plea deal secret

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/27/jeffrey-epstein-2008-documents-secret

A judge in New York has granted a request from prosecutors to keep secret documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s controversial 2008 sexual abuse plea deal, on the grounds that the materials could hamper their investigation of others in the financier’s milieu.

The documents, which will be shared with Epstein’s attorneys, are believed to concern not only the deal itself, which allowed Epstein to plead guilty to low-level state solicitation charges, but also a clause that granted immunity to any and all potential co-conspirators and named four women suspected of facilitating or participating in alleged crimes against minors.

The documents may also shed light on the 2008 deal, which was kept secret from accusers for nearly a year in what some claim was a violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. Controversy over the deal forced the resignation earlier this month of the US labor secretary, Alex Acosta, who was US attorney in Miami at the time.

In a court filing, prosecutors with the southern district of New York argued that the materials could “affect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals … [and that] would impede, if prematurely disclosed, the government’s ongoing investigation of uncharged individuals”.