During the crucial period from May 2007 to April 2008—when federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida were drafting an indictment, negotiating with Epstein’s attorneys, and ultimately approving a plea deal—internal review by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) discovered a significant gap in Acosta’s incoming email records. The “data gap” corresponds exactly to this key negotiation window and affected Acosta’s inbox but not his sent mail. The gap was described by the OPR as likely a technological error, not necessarily a deletion. The missing emails are at the heart of motions by Epstein’s victims’ attorneys seeking the release of documents they say were never produced, arguing that the gap “struck on exactly the time period when most of the big decisions were being made.”


Acosta, who as U.S. Attorney signed off on a non-prosecution agreement in 2008 that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state charges while federal indictments were dropped, has faced mounting criticism and scrutiny for his judgment in the case. His defenders say the missing emails are part of a benign IT issue, but victims’ advocates say they illustrate how the system protected Epstein. Because the missing records overlap with Epstein’s legal team’s intense lobbying and the prosecutors’ internal deliberations, the gap raises questions about transparency, institutional accountability, and whether the full scope of the federal investigation was preserved.



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