Alexander Acosta said putting Epstein on trial would’ve been a gamble, transcript shows

<p>Former prosecutor testified before House committee on hurdles that prosecution of convicted sex offender would have faced</p><p>Alexander Acosta, the former US attorney for the southern district of Florida who negotiated a plea deal in 2008 with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/jeffrey-epstein">Jeffrey Epstein</a>, testified before the House oversight committee last month that going to trial would have been a “crapshoot” due to lack of cooperation from victims.</p><p>In a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CtE3pRovhmz8pLDZEtR-vKe87UVT4TLO/view">transcript</a> of the six-hour interview released on Friday, the former prosecutor, who later served in the first <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration">Trump administration</a>, described the evidentiary hurdles Epstein’s federal prosecution would have faced, and why his office turned the case over to Florida state prosecutors that resulted in the disgraced financier pleading guilty to charges of soliciting sex from a minor.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/17/alexander-acosta-epstein-trial">Continue reading...</a>