The death of financier Jeffrey Epstein is "just abominable," and the circumstances raise "more questions than answers," but Attorney General William Barr will get to the bottom of the case, former Clinton-era independent counsel Ken Starr, one of the attorneys who represented Epstein in his 2008 Florida plea deal, said Thursday.
Starr, now a Fox News contributor, also told "Outnumbered Overtime" that Epstein did not receive a "sweetheart deal," and, in his opinion, the government must abide by that agreement rather than turning it aside to prosecute Epstein's alleged accomplices.
"He should be alive, unless he took his own life," Starr said. "What we do know is that the protocol was so bad . . . I'm not saying it was, but was this a homicide? That's a real possibility."
Starr said he met Epstein in 2007, when his then-law firm was brought in as part of his defense team to address legal issues in Florida, and Thursday said it is "ridiculous" critics say the billionaire received a "sweetheart" deal that allowed him to plead guilty to just one state charge and avoid federal sex trafficking charges.
Epstein had to register as a sex offender, spend time in jail, and work with counsel to make sure his victims were compensated, Starr said, "so it's a very creative nonprosecution agreement, but it resolved all these issues."
He added the "global agreement" means the case is over, as long as Epstein abided by the deal's terms, so he is not sure if Epstein's alleged co-conspirators should be charged with crimes.
"I hope the federal government will simply recognize it has entered into a deal," he said. "It was approved by the Justice Department at very high levels. The deputy attorney general's office. A deal is a deal, including with the federal government."
Epstein's victims also had a "number of opportunities" available through the nonprosecution agreement, Starr added when asked if he thought they were being treated fairly.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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