The Miami Herald’s extraordinary series “Perversion of Justice” reveals that Palm Beach hedge-fund manager and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein was not the only one who committed sick and twisted acts in the early 2000s. The actions of members of the criminal justice system who should have sought justice for the scores of young girls who were

Epstein’s victims were equally depraved.

And when the white-hot rage unleashed by the three-part series subsides — somewhat — this much is clear: Alexander Acosta, who was the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida at the time, is not fit to serve as attorney general of the United States. Acosta is said to be among those being considered to replace recently fired Jeff Sessions. But anyone reading the Herald’s investigations will see how Acosta’s shameful actions deem him far from qualified to be the highest law-enforcement officer in the land. Even as labor secretary, he is ethically compromised.

Click to resize

When word finally reached Palm Beach police of Epstein’s criminal behavior, Acosta bent over backwards, at the request — then the insistence — of Epstein’s high-powered lawyers, to ensure the millionaire, then 54, received minimum jail time and even less publicity. Worse, Acosta appears to have violated federal law by keeping the deal a secret. Epstein’s young victims were never notified of the agreement. Therefore, they never had a chance to challenge it in front of a judge.

As we said, depraved.

And the hard work of local law enforcement and the FBI, who were investigating an ever-lengthening trail of young Jane Does beyond Florida state line? It all came to an end. It is imperative that the FBI resuscitate its investigation, with the possibility, however difficult, that the entire case be reopened.