DOJ-OGR-00021832.pdf

Case 22-1426, Document 117, 11/01/2024, 3636586, Page8 of 51 ISSUE PRESENTED Whether the canon of construction adopted by the Second Circuit in Annabi, whereby perceived ambiguities in the scope of immunity in a plea agreement are resolved in favor of the government, should be overruled or limited. BACKGROUND In September 2007, following state and federal investigations of alleged unlawful sexual activity, Jeffrey Epstein entered into a non-prosecution and plea agreement ("NPA") with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida ("USAO-SDFL"). A173-179.2 In return for pleading guilty to state charges, receiving an eighteen-month sentence and consenting to jurisdiction and liability for civil suits under 18 U.S.C. Section 2255, irrespective of where those claims arose, the government agreed, inter alia, not to prosecute Epstein in the SDFL for the offenses from 2001-2007 then under investigation. In addition, "the United States also agree[d] that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to [four named individuals]." A178. The co-conspirator clause was negotiated at the same time that the terms of Epstein's liability for civil claims without geographic 2 Numerical references preceded by "A" and "SA" are to the appendices filed with Appellant's Brief and the Government's Brief, respectively. 3 DOJ-OGR-00021832