❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel testified about the mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Kash Patel, Alex Acosta, Jeffrey Epstein, Representative James Comer (R-KY).
📍WHEN & WHERE: Senate testimony on Tuesday; Acosta to appear before a House panel on Friday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If I were the FBI director then, it wouldn’t have happened.” – Kash Patel
🎯IMPACT: Acosta’s handling of the case remains under scrutiny, with further investigation by the House panel.
During Senate testimony on Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel criticized the initial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation under former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in 2006. Notably, Acosta resigned as the U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2019 following Epstein’s alleged suicide.
Director Patel described Acosta and the FBI’s decision to pursue only limited search warrants that failed to cover and provide for the seizure of a number of critical documents and personal materials of Epstein as the “original sin.” He told senators, referring to Acosta’s decision to assent to a controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2008: “If I were the FBI director then, it wouldn’t have happened.”
The 2008 agreement legally prevented the government from accessing certain materials in Epstein’s possession without court permission. The Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded in 2020 that while Acosta showed “poor judgment,” he did not commit “professional misconduct” in the Epstein case.
Acosta is slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee on September 19 for a transcribed interview. The National Pulse reported earlier on Tuesday that Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) blasted Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s handling of the Epstein Files, stating: “I don’t think anyone would say she’s handled this situation in a perfect manner.”
“It’s an odd series of events. She said she had the Epstein list on her [desk], then they walked it back and said there was no list. That’s a question she needs to answer,” Comer argued.
Kash Patel: “The original sin in the Epstein case was the way it was originally brought by Mr. Acosta back in 2006.” pic.twitter.com/tNJzeVYjur
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 16, 2025
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