Epstein skied with, had dinners with a top Florida prosecutor on his case, docs show [View all]

Source: Miami Herald

Jeffrey Epstein had multiple appointments, phone calls and dinners with Matthew Menchel — the Miami U.S. Attorney’s office chief criminal prosecutor who spearheaded Epstein’s sweetheart deal in 2007, newly released documents show.

A tranche of over 8,500 pages of records from Epstein’s estate — released by the House Oversight Committee Friday — show that Epstein’s calendars and emails reflect that Menchel, who left the DOJ in 2008, had multiple meetings or dinners with Epstein in 2011, 2013 and 2017. Lawmakers also referred to a photograph of Menchel on a ski trip with Epstein sometime in the 2000s.

Menchel did not respond to multiple phone calls, text messages and an email sent by the Miami Herald on Friday.

Epstein’s 2008 deal allowed the New York financier to escape federal sex trafficking charges that could have put him in prison for life. It also gave immunity to others involved in his crimes, many of whom have never been identified. A 2018 investigation by the Miami Herald, called ‘Perversion of Justice,’ detailed how federal prosecutors in South Florida minimized Epstein’s abuse of almost 100 underage girls and worked closely with Epstein’s high-powered attorneys to keep the scope of his crimes secret.

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article312545792.html?giftCode=0811f1a7c13d5d4916f472214c80d2c7937945adc227d3db9beef7d98c9f3345