Lesley Abravanel
An investigative report by Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown details how former Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter’s initial mid-2000s probe into Jeffrey Epstein was stymied, subsequently dragging the George W. Bush administration into the scandal.
According to Brown’s reporting, the Bush-era Department of Justice directly intervened to effectively shut down Reiter’s early criminal probe into Epstein, severely limiting the Palm Beach Police Department’s ability to pursue the case.
Reiter and his lead detective, the late Joe Recarey, spearheaded the initial investigation into Epstein in 2006. They attempted to hold Epstein accountable for soliciting minors but were ultimately blocked by federal authorities who intervened to grant Epstein his controversial, lenient non-prosecution agreement.
In her interview with Reiter, he expressed his ongoing frustration that Epstein’s behavior was continuously shielded by powerful political and business ties.
Reiter heavily criticized the 2008 non-prosecution agreement negotiated by the then-U.S. Attorney, Alexander Acosta who eventually became Donald Trump’s labor secretary during his first presidential term.
Reiter viewed the controversial deal, which allowed Epstein to avoid federal s– trafficking charges and serve a light sentence, as the “worst failure of the criminal justice system” in modern history.
After Reiter interviewed “two dozentearful girls and their parents,” he said he was “stonewalled by state prosecutors and attacked in the media.”
Requesting a meeting with Acosta, Reiter told him, “I’m here to ask you to live up to the principles that you espoused when you were sworn in.”