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Likely New Evidence In Epstein Case: Miami Herald Reporter | Morning Joe | MSNBC

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Jeffrey Epstein walked into a Manhattan courtroom Monday facing federal sex trafficking charges — and the reporter who spent a year digging up his 2008 plea deal says there’s more coming.

The millionaire financier and registered sex offender was arraigned in federal court in New York on July 8, 2019, after being taken into custody at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey days earlier as he returned from Paris. Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown joined Morning Joe to walk through what led to the arrest and what she believes prosecutors — and journalists — are still sitting on.

• Epstein, a registered sex offender, appeared in federal court in New York on Monday on sex trafficking allegations.
• Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter whose investigative work reopened scrutiny of Epstein’s case, told Morning Joe there is likely new evidence yet to surface.
• Brown’s reporting has centered on Epstein’s inner circle, including British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, whom accusers have described as an accomplice in recruiting victims.

The Reporter Who Reopened the Case

Julie K. Brown’s 2018 investigative series, “Perversion of Justice,” is the reason Epstein is back in a courtroom at all. Her reporting dug into the 2008 non-prosecution agreement that let Epstein plead guilty to state prostitution charges in Florida and serve just 13 months, much of it on work release, instead of facing a federal indictment that could have put him away for life. That deal was negotiated while Alex Acosta served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Brown’s series tracked down and interviewed women who say they were abused as teenagers, giving names and details that had been buried for a decade. That reporting is widely credited with pushing federal prosecutors in New York to build the new case against Epstein, which is why she was on Morning Joe walking hosts through what comes next rather than simply recapping what already happened.

The Charges and the Courtroom

Prosecutors allege Epstein trafficked and abused dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, in New York and Florida beginning around 2002 and continuing for years. In court, Epstein pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argued he should be released on bail while his defense team pointed to his ties to New York and past cooperation with law enforcement. Prosecutors pushed back hard, casting him as a flight risk given his access to a private jet and properties abroad.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s Alleged Role

On air, Brown pointed directly at Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and longtime Epstein associate who has been named in multiple civil suits as an alleged recruiter who helped identify and groom victims for Epstein. Brown’s reporting and interviews with accusers describe Maxwell as far more than a bystander in Epstein’s orbit.

Brown told Morning Joe she believes there is likely new evidence still to emerge in the case — material that could implicate more people close to Epstein than have been named so far.

That’s the piece worth watching heading into Epstein’s bail hearing: whether prosecutors introduce anything from the trove of documents tied to years of civil litigation, and whether Maxwell’s name shows up in a filing rather than just a headline.