FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday blamed Alex Acosta for mistakes in the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the former U.S. attorney cast the “original sin” in the case.

Acosta, while U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, signed off on the 2008 nonprosecutorial agreement that was later described as a “sweetheart deal,” allowing Epstein to plead guilty to a lesser charge and obtain work-release from his county jail sentence.

“The original sin in the Epstein case was the way it was initially brought by Mr. Acosta,” Patel told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Patel claimed Acosta, who went on to become labor secretary in President Donald Trump’s first term, hamstrung further investigation and prosecution efforts.

“Mr. Acosta allowed Epstein to enter — in 2008 — to plea to a nonprosecution agreement which then the courts issued mandates and protective orders legally prohibiting anyone from ever seeing that material ever again without the permission of the court. The nonprosecution also barred future prosecutions of those involved at that time,” Patel charged.

His charge comes as Acosta is scheduled to testify behind closed doors to the House Oversight Committee on Friday about his handling of the case.

In 2018, the Miami Herald published an exposé of the plea agreement, including the effort to keep Epstein’s victims from learning the details of the deal. In the aftermath, Acosta resigned from the Trump administration and federal prosecutors in New York filed a new indictment against Epstein for sex trafficking offenses. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

During his hearing Tuesday, Patel faced intense pressure from both Democratic and Republican senators to release more information about the Epstein case.

The FBI director pushed back, saying he was hampered by the previous legal deals that were made. Patel was a leading player in pushing for greater transparency on the case before he became FBI chief. He acknowledged his response was going to disappoint people.

“I know that’s not going to satisfy many, many, many people. But if they wanted it done right, then the investigation from its origination should have been done right, and he (Epstein) should not have been given a ‘get out of jail free card’ to do jail on the weekends for 12 hours a day, and he should have been investigated fully for the entirety of his crime and criminal enterprise, not just from 1997 to 2001,” Patel said.

Schiff vs. Patel

During a particularly contentious moment, Patel got into a shouting match with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., over his handling of the Epstein case and Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer from a maximum security prison in Florida to a minimum security facility in Texas.

The two men shouted over each other repeatedly as Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, repeatedly banged his gavel, trying to bring the hearing back to order.

Schiff asked if Patel thought the “American people were stupid” to think the FBI wasn’t involved in the decision of transfer to Maxwell.

“No, I think the American people believe the truth that I’m not in the weeds on every move of inmates,” Patel responded. “What I am doing is protecting this country.”

From there, things disintegrated as the two went back and forth.

“You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate,” Patel told Schiff. “You are a disgrace to this institution and an utter coward.”

“The most significant witness in the Epstein files cover-up,” Schiff said in response.” This stinks to high heaven.”

“You are a political buffoon, at best,” Patel told him.

Schiff said Patel “will always be nothing more than an internet troll.”

“Go ahead and run to the cameras — where you want to go now,” Patel shouted.

Grassley, banging his gavel furiously, finally told them: “Both of you, be quiet.”

Demanding answers

The Epstein case has become the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, including a “client list” naming powerful men who used his sex trafficking ring and unsubstantiated claims Epstein was murdered in prison. His death was ruled a suicide and no client list has ever been produced.

But senators from both sides of the aisle demanded answers.

“Who, if anyone, did Epstein traffic these young women to besides himself?” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked the FBI director.

“Himself,” Patel responded. “There is no credible information, none. If there were, I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals and the information we have, again, is limited.”

The Epstein case has become a point of contention for Trump and his followers. The administration has tried to close the book on the matter but the MAGA faithful continue to demand more information.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have gotten involved. The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed all the case files from the Justice Department, of which about one-third have been turned over, but most of those are already in the public domain.

More files are said to be coming but no dates have been given for their release.

Patel pointed to court rulings that denied requests from the Trump administration to release grand jury transcripts in the case as a reason for the limited release of information.

“We will release everything we are legally permitted to do so,” Patel said. “We are continuing to work with the House on the subpoena request.”

“The issue’s not gonna go away,” Kennedy told him. “I think you’re gonna have to do more to satisfy the American people’s understandable curiosity in that regard.”

The hearing was contentious at several times, not just when discussing Epstein. Patel also defended his agency’s handling of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and his firing of FBI agents, many of whom had investigated Trump’s handling of classified material and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

At one point, he and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., got into a shouting match when Booker criticized his tenure as FBI director and predicted: “I think you’re not gonna be around long. I think this might be your last Oversight hearing.” “I’m not afraid of you,” Patel snapped.

Meanwhile, the Epstein estate — also under a congressional subpoena — turned over a cache of files to the committee, including the infamous “birthday book,” an album of felicitations for Epstein for his 50th birthday. Lawyers for the estate said they found no documents resembling a “client list.”

Patel, who was defensive throughout his grilling from lawmakers, also refused to discuss details about a July joint memo from the Justice Department and FBI that said there was no additional information to be released about the case and found the evidence pointed to Epstein committing suicide in prison.

He declined to say who was ultimately responsible for the memo, noting it was a joint venture between the DOJ and the FBI.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked him why it was unsigned.

“Would you prefer I used autopen?” Patel responded, referring to the Trump administration’s investigation of former President Joe Biden’s use of the signing device.

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