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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document675_ Filed 06/25/22 Page17 of 21 Judge Hull observed, “[ml]ysteries remain about how Epstein escaped federal prosecution....” /n re Wild, 994 F.3d at 1327 (11th Cir. en banc 2021) (Hull, J., dissenting). ‘These “mysteries” about this controversial non—prosecution deal have led to skepticism from all quarters. For example, Senator Ben Sasse, then—Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee, wrote to Attorney General William Barr that “[t]he idea that wealth and connections can buy injustice...is wholly and completely inconsistent with the basic notions of fairness and equality that undergird the rule of law enshrined in our Constitution.” Letter from Sen. Sasse to Attorney General Barr (Aug. 13, 2019).? The sad reality is that the shocking lack of accountability for the Epstein and Maxwell criminal conspiracy has “ignited a crisis of public trust in the Department [of Justice] and exacerbated the erosion of trust that the American people have in our institutions of republican self— government more broadly.” Letter from Senators Sasse, Blumenthal, Cruz, and Blackburn to Inspector General Horowitz (Dec. 2, 2019).? The favorable treatment that Epstein, Maxwell, and their other wealthy co—conspirators received has created a public view that, so long as a defendant is powerful enough, he can manipulate the federal criminal justice system. See generally Marc Fisher et al., The Pressure on a Prosecutor: How Epstein’s Wealth and Power Steered Acosta Toward Lenient Deal, WASH. POST (July 12, 2019). Indeed, the treatment of the conspirators has caused the public to believe that there is “an entirely different * Available at https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/8/sasse-to-doj-rip-up- epstein-deal-go-after-coconspirators. 3 Available at https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/cb719d31-2a1f-45ad-a701- 3fc3c7b73417/12-02-19-dojigepstein.pdf 17 DOJ-OGR-00010708