Earlier reports suggested that he would be recusing himself. But he’s only recusing himself from review of the 2008 plea because that involved Kirkland Ellis lawyers.
Via NY Post:
After consulting Justice Department ethics officials, Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing the sex-trafficking case of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in New York, according to reports.
A Justice official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Barr is still recused from any review of a 2008 plea deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges in Florida.
“I am recused from that matter because one of the law firms that represented Epstein long ago was a firm I subsequently joined for a period of time,” Barr told reporters in South Carolina on Monday.
That’s because Barr’s former law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, had previously represented the convicted sex offender. The deal Epstein secretly made allowed him to avoid federal prosecution for nearly identical allegations.
Epstein was charged Monday in federal court in Manhattan with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
Barr considered whether he would have to remove himself from involvement in the New York case in part because Epstein had previously hired lawyers from the law firm.