Tag: Jeffrey Epstein

REPORT: Judge who approved FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago once linked to Jeffrey Epstein

by Breck Worsham, posted in law, news, politics

WASHINGTON (New York Post) — The Florida federal magistrate judge who signed off on a search warrant authorizing the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort left the local US Attorney’s office more than a decade ago to rep employees of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who had received immunity in the long-running sex-trafficking investigation of the financier.

Sources tell The Post that Judge Bruce Reinhart approved the warrant that enabled federal agents to converge on the palatial South Florida estate on Monday in what Trump called an “unannounced raid on my home.”

Reinhart was elevated to magistrate judge in March 2018 after 10 years in private practice. That November, the Miami Herald reported that he had represented several of Epstein’s employees — including, by Reinhart’s own admission to the outlet, Epstein’s pilots; his scheduler, Sarah Kellen; and Nadia Marcinkova, who Epstein once reportedly described as his “Yugoslavian sex slave.”

Kellen and Marcinkova were among Epstein’s lieutenants who were granted immunity as part of a controversial 2007 deal with federal prosecutors that allowed the pervert to plead guilty to state charges rather than federal crimes. Epstein wound up serving just 13 months in county jail and was granted work release.

According to the outlet, Reinhart resigned from the South Florida US Attorney’s Office effective on New Year’s Day 2008 and went to work for Epstein’s cohorts the following day. Epstein, who was found dead in August 2019 of an apparent suicide in the Manhattan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, had hired a stable of high-powered lawyers, including former independent counsel Kenneth Starr.

Reinhart was later named in a civil lawsuit that accused him of violating Justice Department policies by switching sides in the middle of the Epstein investigation, suggesting he had used inside information about the probe to build favor with the notorious defendant, the Herald reported in 2018.

In a 2011 affidavit, Reinhart denied he had done anything improper and insisted that since he was not involved in the federal investigation of Epstein, he was not privy to inside information about the case.

However, in a 2013 court filing, Reinhart’s former colleagues contradicted him, saying that he had “learned confidential, non-public information about the Epstein matter.” Reinhart noted to the Herald in response that a complaint filed against him by a lawyer for Epstein’s victims had been dismissed by the Justice Department.

In his 12 years as a federal prosecutor, according to his official biography, Reinhart “managed a docket that covered the full spectrum of federal crimes, including narcotics, violent crimes, public corruption, financial frauds, child pornography and immigration.”

Reinhart is one of three federal magistrate judges in the West Palm Beach offices of the US District Court for the Southern District Court of Florida, along with William Matthewman and Ryon McCabe.

Two recent warrant applications were assigned to Reinhart and entered into the court system on Monday, the Miami Herald reported, but those warrants and information about who they targeted remain sealed. Records show another warrant was issued by Reinhart on Friday, but its contents were also sealed.

Trump confirmed media reports of a raid at his Florida resort on Monday evening, saying Mar-a-Lago was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”

The agents were reportedly searching the seaside property for boxes of classified documents Trump allegedly brought to the ritzy resort after he left the White House in January 2021, which would be a violation of federal record-keeping laws.

The National Archives and Records Administration said in February that it found classified documents in 15 boxes at Mar-a-Lago and alerted the FBI.

The removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations is banned under federal law, although Trump had wide powers when he was president to declassify documents.

The raid on Mar-a-Lago comes amid the House select committee’s continuing investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

A federal grand jury is also investigating the riot and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The New York Post’s Miranda Devine, Mark Moore and Samuel Chamberlain contributed to the contents of this report.

Advertisement

REPORT: Maxwell Believes Epstein Was Murdered; Fears She’s Next

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell believes her associate Jeffrey Epstein was murdered while in police custody and fears she’s next, a friend of the alleged child sex trafficker told The Sun.

A friend of Maxwell’s family told The Sun On Sunday that Maxwell, 58, fears she will be killed inside the New York jail which Maxwell reportedly describe as a “hell hole”.

“Everyone’s view including Ghislaine’s is Epstein was murdered. She received death threats before she was arrested,” said the source.

The revelations come just one week after Maxwell was denied bail on multiple counts of enticement of minors and sex trafficking of children. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan deemed the wealthy socialite a flight risk after prosecutors argued that she has thus far refused to cooperate with law enforcement.

The British socialite remained silent as the judge’s ruling was announced.

Maxwell’s trial is tentatively scheduled for July, 2021. If convicted, she could face up to 35 years in prison.

PEDOGATE: Ghislaine Maxwell Will Not Name Names, Says Bloom

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell is unlikely to cooperate with authorities by naming other high profile members of Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophile ring, says victims’ rights lawyer, Lisa Bloom. Instead, Maxwell will likely move to have the case against her dismissed.

“Ninety-five percent of cases end in plea bargains, so that would not surprise me, but I don’t think at this stage, prosecutors would give her a deal if it did not include very serious prison time, and I don’t think she would accept that at this point,” said Bloom.

“I know a lot of people think Ghislaine Maxwell is going to ‘sing like a canary’, and talk about other powerful people, and that that’s why she was arrested, Bloom added. “I don’t agree with that, I think she was the primary target, she was arrested for her own actions, she may have information about others but I don’t think that would give her much lighter a deal.”

Legal analysts say that means there’s no real incentive for Bloom to cooperate with prosecutors to expose the names of other powerful members of Epstein’s pedophile ring. That, they say leaves many other children at high risk for molestation.

As previously reported, Maxwell is said to be in possession of a secret stash of sex tapes that would expose many of Epstein’s acquaintances.

The now deceased billionaire pedophile was known to have his mansions filled with hidden surveillance cameras as a means of collecting blackmail material for use on his guests.

“The secret stash of sex tapes I believe Ghislaine has squirreled away could end up being her get-out-of-jail card if the authorities are willing to trade,” one of Maxwell’s former friends told The Daily Mail. “She has copies of everything Epstein had. They could implicate some twisted movers and shakers.”

Maxwell faced her first court appearance on four counts of sex trafficking and two counts of perjury this week. She was denied bail. Her trial is scheduled for July, 2021.

REPORT: Epstein Associate Will Use Sex Tapes to Avoid Jail

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

NEW YORK — A confidante of Jeffrey Epstein will utilize sex tapes made by the deceased billionaire to avoid prison, a former friend of Ghislaine Maxwell is claiming.

Maxwell, 58, was arrested last week on six federal charges including incitement of minors, child sex trafficking and perjury.

Maxwell’s former friend, who spoke to The Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, said Maxwell is hoping the salacious tapes will prove to be her “get out of jail free card.”

“The secret stash of sex tapes I believe Ghislaine has squirreled away could end up being her get out of jail card if the authorities are willing to trade,” she told the Mail. “She has copies of everything Epstein had. They could implicate some twisted movers and shakers. If Ghislaine goes down, she’s going to take the whole damn lot of them with her.”

“Ghislaine has always been as cunning as they come,” she said. “She wasn’t going to be with Epstein all those years and not have some insurance.”

“Not only did Epstein like to capture himself with underage girls on camera – he wanted to make sure he had something to hold over the rich and powerful men who took advantage of his sick largesse,” she claims. “I’ll bet anything that once it comes out that Ghislaine has those tapes these men will be quaking in their Italian leather boots. Ghislaine made sure that she socked away thumb drives of it all. She knows where all the bodies are buried and she’ll use whatever she had to save her own ass.”

Maxwell is currently being held without bail in a New York City jail. She is due in court on the charges this Friday.

MICHAEL SAVAGE: ‘Epstein was murdered’

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, law, news, politics

SAN FRANCISCO — Conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage on Wednesday told Newsmax TV that he doesn’t buy the official story surrounding billionaire business tycoon Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged suicide and believes the accused pedophile to have been murdered.

Epstein, who was being held in a federal facility awaiting trial on mulitiple counts of child sex crimes was found dead in his cell on August 10.

“He was killed,” Savage told “Newsmax Now” host John Bachman, describing Epstein’s death as a scene straight out of “The Godfather” movie. “You have to be blind not to see he was executed,” Savage said. “The whole thing is absurd. And it was done in plain sight. Right in front of our eyes.”

Savage’s comments follow revelations by Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, that he has been pressured by security guards at the jail to remain silent on the issue.

“The clear message Mr. Tartaglione has received is that if he conveys information about the facility or about [Epstein’s] recent suicide, there will be a price to pay,” Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, said Wednesday in a released statement. “Whether or not the investigators into the suicide chose to interview Mr. Tartaglione about the attempted suicide to which he was witness or about how the facility is run and the conditions under which the inmates are forced to live, the correction officers know he has information potentially very damaging to the very people now charged with guarding him or their coworkers.”

The coroner who performed the autopsy on Epstein shortly after his death found that Epstein had sustained numerous broken neck bones. The injuries, said the coroner, was more consistent with a victim of homicide than suicide.

“Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple,” the Washington Post reported. “Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensic experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation,” experts said.

It was reported shortly before Epstein’s death that he had communicated a desire to cooperate with federal officials and “name names” of other high profile individuals who had participated in the sexual abuse of children.

Attorney General Barr has called for a formal investigation into Epstein’s death.

jeffreyepstein

EPSTEIN’S CELL MATE BEGS TO BE MOVED: Fears there will be “price to pay” if he talks

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, law, news

NEW YORK — A former cellmate of accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is begging to be transferred to another prison out of fear that he will be harmed if he speaks out.

Ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione, who shared a cell with Epstein during his first suicide attempt, is requesting to be transferred because he says prison guards have threatened his safety and told him to “stop talking.”

Epstein, who was found dead in his cell on August 10, had been under suicide watch before his alleged suicide.

The coroner who performed the autopsy on Epstein found that the billionaire business tycoon had sustained numerous broken neck bones. The injuries, said the coroner, was more consistent with a victim of homicide than suicide.

“Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple,” the Washington Post reported. “Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensics experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation, the experts said.”

The coroner’s findings have only made Tartaglione more fearful that his life may too be in danger.

“The clear message Mr. Tartaglione has received is that if he conveys information about the facility or about [Epstein’s] recent suicide, there will be a price to pay,” reads a letter from Tartaglione’s lawyer Bruce Barket. “Whether or not the investigators into the suicide chose to interview Mr. Tartaglione about the attempted suicide to which he was witness or about how the facility is run and the conditions under which the inmates are forced to live, the correction officers know he has information potentially very damaging to the very people now charged with guarding him or their coworkers.”

Attorney General Barr, in the wake of the controversy surrounding Epstein’s death, has called for a formal investigation.

epstein1

THE FALLOUT CONTINUES: AG Barr outs prison chief in response to Epstein’s death

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, law, news, politics

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr on Monday removed Bureau of Prison’s acting director Hugh Hurwitz from his duties in the wake of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death while in federal custody

Epstein, 66, who was charged with multiple counts of child sex abuse, was found dead in his cell earlier this month, the victim of an alleged suicide.

Barr, who named Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, the prison agency’s director from 1992 until 2003, to replace Hurwitz, made the decision amid mounting claims that prison officials did not do enough to protect Epstein, who had been placed at one time under suicide watch. Barr also named Dr. Thomas R. Kane as the agency’s new deputy director.

Last week Barr ordered the bureau to temporarily reassign the prison’s warden, Lamine N’Diaye, to a regional office and to place the two guards who were assigned to watch Epstein on administrative leave.

Allegations have surfaced since Epstein’s August 10 death that the two guards, who were assigned to check on him every 30 minutes, falsified documents to state that they had.

“I am confident Dr. Hawk Sawyer and Dr. Kane will lead BOP with the competence, skill and resourcefulness they have embodied throughout their government careers,” Barr said in a statement.

Lawmakers from both political parties have called for a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.

Epstein was arrested July 6 at an airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, as he returned from Paris on his private jet. He was charged with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking. He faced up to 45 years in prison if found guilty. He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail.

Sexual Misconduct Epstein