U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York ruled in December that there was no legal justification to continue to conceal the more than 150 names in court documents associated with a defamation lawsuit against an associate of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors before committing suicide in jail in 2019. The lawsuit was brought by one of his accusers, Virginia Giuffre.
In anticipation of the list being released, former 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made a claim on X that it was Donald Trump who led the charge against Epstein and that he should receive recognition for doing so. On January 2, 2024, Palin wrote: “Trump led the charge AGAISNT [sic] him, when will they acknowledge it?” (Former presidents Trump and Bill Clinton have both admitted interacting with Epstein.)
#Epstein: Trump led the charge AGAISNT him, when will they acknowledge it? Any high profile influencer besides #Trump turn him in?? NO @cnn @FoxNews @realDonaldTrump @SebGorka @DonaldJTrumpJr @TuckerCarlson @laralogan @LauraLoomer @elon https://t.co/GujTXwoYKI
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) January 2, 2024
Palin is referring to the fact that former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Geoffrey S. Berman, who charged Epstein in July 2019, was first appointed interim U.S. Attorney in 2017 by Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions — after Trump fired Berman’s predecessor Preet Bharara, who had been nominated by Obama in 2009.
(Note: The SDNY subsequently removed Berman’s interim status and appointed him as U.S. Attorney through 28 U.S.C § 546 in which, after 120 days, “the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.”)
In addition to the Epstein case Palin refers to, Berman’s two years on the job saw the SDNY prosecute Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, investigate Trump’s then-personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani regarding his activities in Ukraine, and initiate proceedings that led to fraud charges against former Trump advisor Steve Bannon related to the “We Build the Wall” campaign.
On June 19, 2020, when Trump’s second Attorney General William Barr announced that Berman would step down from his position, Berman initially refused to leave. (CNN titled an article about Barr firing Berman: “Firing of powerful NY prosecutor appears to be latest move to protect Trump.”)
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 20, 2020
Berman is currently a partner at the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where Elena Kagan practiced law before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
