FBI plan to arrest Epstein in 2007 was overruled

The Justice Department is conducting further and deeper investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case to find out why prosecution against him, mounted by the FBI in 2007, was stopped in its tracks.

Epstein, now deceased in what officially has been called an apparent suicide (he died while in prison), was going to be arrested in May of 2007 but the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida told investigators to back off.

According to the Miami Herald, Epstein somehow struck a sweetheart deal with the then US Attorney Alex Acosta, who later went on to be appointed as Labor Secretary for the Trump administration.

The deal itself allowed Epstein to avoid any federal charges (with much more severe implications and sentencing) in exchange for fully cooperating with Florida state authorities who were prosecuting him for lesser charges.

What is in question are the circumstances and motives surrounding this deal, as it appears that Epstein may not have been assisting the federal government at all at the time despite an FBI document indicating such, according to the Justice Department.

Initially, it was thought that Epstein was helping in the prosecution of people on Wall Street or working with federal authorities by providing them some sort of other intelligence, but the Justice Department has not been able to successfully track any hard evidence to substantiate these scenarios, aside from the one now-questionable FBI document and a reference to Epstein having cooperated with authorities on "other matters" in the middle of a 350 page report.

At issue is Acosta's judgment in being so generous with Epstein, who would go on to serve 13 months on two counts of solicitation, with 12 hours per day access to his office in West Palm Beach, FL.

Epstein would continue to be involved in child sex trafficking for years after with his alleged partner Ghislaine Maxwell. Authorities again decided against pursuing legal action against Epstein and Maxwell in the year 2016. It wasn't until 2019 that federal authorities finally decided to prosecute Epstein.