Ex-Trump official once shut down 60-count federal indictment against Epstein: report

Federal sex-crimes prosecutor Marie Villafaña repeatedly urged her boss, Alexander Acosta, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, to pursue a 60-count indictment against Jeffrey Epstein in 2007, but Acosta dismissed her requests.

Acosta's chief criminal prosecutor, Matthew Menchel, questioned the urgency, stating Acosta wanted time to consider proceeding.

Villafaña grew frustrated with what she described as inappropriate handling of the investigation. When she criticized their approach in a July 4...