Robert Sweet, a federal judge presiding over a key lawsuit relating to elite pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead on Sunday. No cause of death has been announced.
The death of the Manhattan-based US District Court Judge adds another twist to the drawn-out legal saga and to efforts to unseal details about the conduct of Epstein, his enablers, and his powerful friends in high places.
Politico provided background information about the suit and Judge Sweet’s role in potentially releasing to the public explosive details about Epstein and his associates:
Sweet was assigned to a lawsuit that emerged from the aftermath of Epstein’s controversial plea deal a decade ago, in which he escaped federal charges by pleading guilty to two prostitution-related offenses in state court. Epstein ended up spending 13 months in jail, with daily furloughs that allowed him to work in his office.
Critics have denounced the plea deal and the government official who negotiated it: Alexander Acosta, then the top federal prosecutor in south Florida and now U.S. secretary of Labor. The sentence, critics say, was excessively lenient for a man who faced allegations of procuring dozens of teenage girls for sex acts.
At an argument session earlier this month, three 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals judges seemed to view the secrecy in the notorious Epstein suit as excessive and unjustified and began planning for the opening of records.
All the judges on the panel appeared to favor making records from the Epstein case public soon, but there was some discussion about the process for considering opening all the records. Judge Sweet was in the frame to oversee the process of unsealing Epstein’s records.
One question debated at the argument was whether Judge Sweet should oversee that process or whether it should be handed over to another judge.
Following the death of Judge Sweet, 96, that question is now moot. Whether the process of unsealing the Epstein records is derailed remains to be seen.
The news regarding the death of the federal judge follows explosive revelations that special counsel Robert Mueller personally intervened in the FBI investigation of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, striking a deal that allowed him avoid prosecution.
According to a series of bombshell FBI documents released in May, known child predator Jeffrey Epstein had a professional relationship with then-FBI Director Robert Mueller.
“Epstein has also provided information to the FBI as agreed upon,” says one of the FBI documents. “Case agent advised that no federal prosecution will occur in this matter as long as Epstein continues to uphold his agreement with the state of Florida.”