Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer has reacted to Sec. Acosta’s claim that, if not for his actions, Jeffrey Epstein would have walked free. Here’s Krischer’s full statement:

READ IT HERE: Former Palm Beach (FL) State Atty Barry Krischer challenges Acosta’s characterization of why Acosta pursued a plea deal for Epstein: “I can emphatically state that Mr. Acosta’s recollection of this matter is completely wrong.” pic.twitter.com/0Drs4vetTO — Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) July 10, 2019

It reads in part, “I can emphatically state that Mr. Acosta’s recollection of this matter is completely wrong.” After confirming that a grand jury only returned one indictment, he continues, “Subsequently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office produced a 53-page indictment that was abandoned after secret negotiations between Mr. Epstein’s lawyers and Mr. Acosta. The State’s Attorney’s Office was not a party to those meetings or negotiations, and definitely had no part in the federal Non-Prosecution Agreement the unusual confidentiality arrangement that kept everything hidden from the victims.”

Earlier today, Acosta claimed he stepped in to prevent Epstein from walking, arguing that the light prison sentence Epstein received was better than nothing. But Krischer writes, “If Mr. Acosta was truly concerned with the State’s case and felt he had to rescue the matter, he would have moved forward with the 53-page indictment that his own office drafted. Instead, Mr. Acosta brokered a secret plea deal that resulted in a Non-Prosecution Agreement in violation of the Crime Victim’s Rights Act.” He concludes, “Mr. Acosta should not be allowed to rewrite history.”

I’m not an attorney but Popehat says the existence of the 53-page indictment demonstrates that federal prosecutors had confidence in the case.

/2 If there was a lengthy draft indictment, that is completely inconsistent with Acosta's description of an office that had serious doubts about whether it could make a case. — RammedTheRampartsHat (@Popehat) July 10, 2019

In other words, if they had a 53-page indictment ready, then the claim that 18 months in kiddie jail was the best Acosta could do is pretty hard to believe. I wonder what ever happened to that document. Did anyone save a copy? It would be interesting to compare it to the deal Acosta eventually reached.