LINCOLN, CA - September 06: Bill Cosby performs in support of his Far From Finished tour at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California on September 06, 2014. (Photo credit: Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock)
A legal expert told CNN viewers on Friday afternoon there are "definitely some worrisome similarities" between the cases of Bill Cosby and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Elie Honig joined "The Lead" with anchor Jake Tapper to discuss the latest in the Jeffrey Epstein controversy that has embroiled President Donald Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. She just completed a rare series of interviews with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in which she answered questions, including inquiries about roughly 100 people.
"One also wonders if any of the victims of the Epstein-Maxwell crimes are being consulted in this," Tapper wondered aloud. "They totally were left out of the picture back in 2008 during that sweetheart plea deal that the Bush administration gave to Epstein."
He noted that Maxwell’s lawyer spent a good chunk of time Friday talking about their appeal to the Supreme Court about her case.
“We don’t think this will affect her appeal. We’re appealing on a very important ground, which is the government at the time promised her that — promised Jeffrey Epstein — that any potential co-conspirators would not be prosecuted. And I’m surprised. I don’t think President Trump knows that the Justice Department took the position that that bargain should not, that promise should not be upheld. President Trump is the ultimate dealmaker.”
Tapper asked CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig what argument the Maxwell team's appeal hinges on.
"I’m getting echoes of the Bill Cosby freedom going on here, because the government entered into an agreement with him, violated it, sent him to prison, and then ultimately he got out because, like it or not, the government had made this promise. Is it the same thing here?" asked Tapper.
Honig agreed with Tapper's characterization.
"Yeah, Jake, there are definitely some worrisome similarities. And this is a reminder of just how corrupt that deal was that was given to Jeffrey Epstein back in 2007, 2008 by Alexander Acosta, who was then the U.S. Attorney for Florida. In addition to giving Jeffrey Epstein essentially a walk. They gave him 13 months on a crime that he could have been convicted for 10 years up to life. So they gave Jeffrey Epstein a walk."
Honig flagged a curious provision included in the deal.
"And the truly bizarre thing about that deal is they also included a provision saying that Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators will never be prosecuted. I have never once done that as a prosecutor. Never once heard of that or seen it. And now here we are 15 years later, or 17 years later, and Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers are trying to leverage that. They’re saying, 'Hey DOJ, you promised us no further prosecutions of co-conspirators. She’s a co-conspirator.'"
Honig said Maxwell's team is "pitching" Trump a "technical hook."
"He’s saying, “Hey Mr. President, if you want to get out of this, if you want to give Ms. Maxwell some benefit, just point to that old deal and say, ‘Oh, all we’re doing is honoring that old deal that was made in ‘07–‘08.’ So Maxwell is trying to get something for herself here. Let’s be clear about that."
Watch the clip below or at this link.