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Extracted Text (OCR)
10
did not take on some unique broader meaning in the co-
conspirators’ clause. Cf. Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Gar-
ner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts
170-173 (2012) (presumption of consistent usage).
Moreover, even if the meaning of the coconspirators
clause were not clear in context, extrinsic evidence
would resolve the ambiguity against petitioner. See
United States v. Gebbie, 294 F.3d 540, 551 (3d Cir. 2002).
At the time the NPA was negotiated, DOJ policy barred
USAOs from entering into NPAs that bound other dis-
tricts unless they obtained the approval of those dis-
tricts or the Criminal Division. Pet. App. 10a. That pol-
icy reflects the longstanding general rule that a U.S. At-
torney’s area of responsibility is limited to “his district.”
28 U.S.C. 547; see Pet. App. 1la-12a. While petitioner
suggests (Pet. 18) that USAOs are instructed to be ex-
plicit on that point, they are also instructed to consult
with other DOJ components if they intend to altogether
foreclose any prosecution by other USAOs. See Justice
Manual § 9-27.630. And there is no indication here that
anyone involved in negotiating Epstein’s NPA obtained
the necessary approval for binding other USAOs or
thought it was necessary. Pet. App. 10a.
b. Petitioner’s contrary arguments (Pet. 12-18) lack
merit. She invokes general principles that prosecutors
should be held to the promises they make, see Pet. 13-
14 (discussing Santobello, supra, and Giglio v. United
States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972)), and that “ambiguities in a
plea agreement are to be resolved against the govern-
ment,” Pet. 16. But those arguments merely beg the
questions of what promises the NPA did make and
whether the NPA is ambiguous. As explained above,
the NPA’s coconspirators clause, read in context, is not
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