Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, then a federal prosecutor, crafted a plea deal in 2007 for Jeffrey Epstein that was meant to conceal the sexual abuse of as many as 80 underage girls, the Miami Herald reports.

“Not only would Epstein serve just 13 months in the county jail, but the deal — called a non-prosecution agreement — essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein’s sex crimes.”

“The pact required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in state court. Epstein and four of his accomplices named in the agreement received immunity from all federal criminal charges. But even more unusual, the deal included wording that granted immunity to ‘any potential co-conspirators’’ who were also involved in Epstein’s crimes.”

“As part of the arrangement, Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims.”

Aaron Blake: “Once you agree to cooperate with the government, your interests no longer align (and often clash) with other subjects of the investigation, and such ‘joint defense agreements’ are usually instantly voided. That’s what happened when Michael Flynn flipped last year and with Michael Cohen this year. But that’s not the same as saying anyone involved will be punished — especially if they never misrepresented what they were doing.”

“There is another possible legal consequence, though, and it involves the broader obstruction of justice investigation. Basically, Mueller’s team could decide that this arrangement has amounted to witness tampering or obstruction, or that it adds to a mountain of evidence on that latter count.”