(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that he’s signing legislation that will pave the way for more documents about notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to be released.
DeSantis’s announcement came after both houses of the Florida state legislature passed a bill for the public release of evidence and testimony from grand-jury proceedings that took place back in 2006.
“All files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activity should be made public. While the federal government continues to stonewall accountability, I’m glad the Legislature has taken action to release the grand jury material from the Florida state case,” DeSantis said last Wednesday.
“I will sign the bill into law.”
All files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activity should be made public.
While the federal government continues to stonewall accountability, I’m glad the Legislature has taken action to release the grand jury material from the Florida state case.
I will sign the bill… https://t.co/3VjOMMt69a
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 21, 2024
The 2006 investigation into Epstein resulted in what’s now commonly referred to as a “sweetheart plea deal” for the deceased pedophile, where he pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in exchange for non-prosecution. Epstein served 13 months in jail, during which time he was allowed to leave for work release during the day. The FBI then closed its investigation in 2008, allowing Epstein to again run amok for another decade.
The Epstein records could reportedly be released as soon as July.
Last month, other Epstein records were unsealed from the years-long civil litigation between him and his victims.
Among those records included emails showing that one of Epstein’s victims claimed in 2016 that there were sex tapes featuring Bill Clinton, as well as billionaire Richard Branson and Prince Andrew.
The victim, Sarah Ransome, also alleged in emails that one of her friends had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump, whom she referred to in emails as a pedophile.
Meanwhile, the victims are now suing the FBI for allowing Epstein’s sex-trafficking network to operate with impunity for years.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month, nearly a year after victims filed a complaint with the Justice Department over the matter. The lawsuit suggested that the victims were particularly insulted by FBI Director Chris Wray’s statements at a December congressional hearing, where he told Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., that he hasn’t looked at the Epstein case in years.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
