Alex Acosta Goes To Congress: Transcripts From The Alex Acosta Deposition (Part 15) (11/9/25)

Leon Black, the billionaire co-founder of Leon Black and longtime face of Apollo Global Management, was effectively forced out of the firm he helped build after revelations about his extensive financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein became impossible to contain. Reporting revealed that Black paid Epstein roughly $158 million over several years for what was described as tax and estate planning advice—payments that continued even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. As public scrutiny intensified, investors, limited partners, and regulators began questioning Apollo’s governance, oversight, and judgment, turning Black from an asset into a reputational liability almost overnight.While Black formally characterized his departure in 2021 as a voluntary step down, the reality was far more coercive. Apollo’s board commissioned an outside review that confirmed the scale of the Epstein payments, and pressure mounted from pension funds and institutional investors who made clear that Black’s continued presence threatened capital commitments and the firm’s standing. Faced with growing backlash and an untenable optics problem, Apollo moved to distance itself from its co-founder, stripping Black of his leadership role and accelerating a governance overhaul. In practical terms, Black wasn’t gently ushered aside—he was pushed out to protect the firm, marking one of the clearest examples of how the Epstein fallout claimed a major Wall Street power player long before any courtroom accountability arrived.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

2 Jan 53min

When the Jeffrey Epstein story exploded back into public view in 2019, investors at Apollo Global Management were immediately confronted with damaging revelations about co-founder Leon Black and his deep financial ties to Epstein. The disclosure that Black had paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars—later revealed to total roughly $158 million—set off alarm bells across Apollo’s investor base, particularly among public pension funds and institutional limited partners who are acutely sensitive to reputational and governance risk. These investors were not reacting to rumor or tabloid noise; they were responding to documented financial relationships that continued well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, raising serious questions about Black’s judgment and Apollo’s internal controls.As the story unfolded through late 2019 and into 2020, confidence in Black’s leadership eroded rapidly. Investors began pressing Apollo’s board for explanations, transparency, and concrete action, with some signaling that future capital commitments were at risk if Black remained in control. The issue metastasized from a personal scandal into a firm-wide credibility problem, forcing Apollo to commission an external review and publicly address governance failures it had long avoided. By the time Black announced his exit, investor faith had already collapsed; his continued presence was widely viewed as incompatible with Apollo’s ability to raise capital and maintain legitimacy in a market increasingly intolerant of Epstein-adjacent risk.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

2 Jan 49min

Legal analysts have long noted that Ghislaine Maxwell never seriously pursued a cooperation deal in part because prosecutors had little incentive to offer one. The government’s case against Maxwell was unusually narrow and tightly framed, focusing on a defined time window, a limited number of victims, and a clean narrative of recruitment and grooming that could be proven without relying on broader conspiracy testimony. By structuring the indictment this way, prosecutors minimized risk, avoided intelligence sensitivities, and ensured a conviction without opening doors to sprawling discovery fights over Epstein’s finances, political connections, or institutional enablers. In that context, Maxwell’s value as a cooperator was sharply limited: the government already had what it needed to win.That has fueled speculation—shared quietly by defense lawyers and former prosecutors—that Maxwell’s refusal or inability to cut a deal may have stemmed from the case being deliberately engineered to not require her to talk about the wider network. Any cooperation that meaningfully reduced her sentence would likely have required testimony implicating powerful third parties or exposing systemic failures beyond Epstein himself. Such disclosures may have been inconvenient, destabilizing, or outside the scope prosecutors wanted to litigate. As a result, Maxwell faced a stark reality: cooperate and offer information the government did not appear to want—or go to trial in a case designed to convict her alone. The outcome suggests the prosecution prioritized certainty and containment over a broader reckoning, leaving Maxwell with no off-ramp and the larger structure surrounding Epstein largely untouched.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

2 Jan 15min

After her conviction, Ghislaine Maxwell found herself embroiled in an unflattering postscript to the trial: allegations that she failed to pay her own lawyers. Court filings and reporting showed that at least one defense attorney accused Maxwell of leaving substantial legal bills unpaid after the verdict, despite months of high-stakes work on post-trial and appellate matters. The dispute spilled into public view through formal motions, exposing a rare and uncomfortable rupture between a defendant once backed by elite legal firepower and the lawyers who stood beside her through one of the most notorious sex-trafficking trials in recent history.Legal observers noted that the episode carried an air of irony difficult to ignore. Maxwell had financed a famously expensive defense while maintaining deep secrecy around her finances, yet once the jury returned its guilty verdict, the money appeared to dry up fast. The court treated the matter as a straightforward fee dispute rather than a legal crisis, but the optics were damaging: a convicted trafficker accused of stiffing the very attorneys paid to defend her. For critics, the fallout reinforced a broader portrait of Maxwell’s post-trial unraveling—where loyalty, resources, and legal alliances seemed to evaporate as quickly as her freedom.to contact  me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

2 Jan 19min

How does a man like Jeffrey Epstein—a serial predator accused by multiple underage victims, operating in plain sight for years—walk into one of the most grotesquely lenient plea deals in modern American legal history? How does federal prosecution quietly vanish, victims get lied to, and a man facing life-altering charges instead secure a sweetheart agreement that lets him serve time in a private wing, leave jail six days a week, and continue living like a billionaire? This wasn’t a paperwork error or a one-off lapse in judgment. Deals like that do not happen by accident. They require power, protection, and people inside the system willing to bend, break, or outright ignore the law.So the real question isn’t how did Epstein do it—it’s who cleared the runway. Who decided the victims didn’t need to know? Who signed off on shielding unnamed co-conspirators? Who looked at the evidence, the scale of abuse, the number of girls, and said, “Let’s make this go away”? Because no ordinary defendant gets that kind of mercy. That kind of deal screams institutional fear, leverage, or complicity. And until every hand that touched that agreement is named, questioned, and held to account, the Epstein case isn’t a failure of justice—it’s proof of how selectively justice is applied.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

2 Jan 18min

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has repeatedly drawn criticism for missed opportunities, delayed action, and opaque decision-making throughout the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. As early as the 1990s, the FBI received detailed complaints alleging abuse and trafficking, yet those warnings failed to trigger decisive intervention. Victim reports were documented but not meaningfully pursued, evidence languished without aggressive follow-up, and coordination with other agencies appeared inconsistent at best. These early failures allowed Epstein to continue operating for years, expanding both his network and the scale of harm while federal scrutiny remained fragmented and sluggish.Even after Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement ignited public outrage, the Bureau’s performance continued to raise alarms. Records battles with survivors, slow or incomplete document releases, and revelations that key investigative leads were deprioritized have reinforced perceptions of institutional breakdown. Critics argue the FBI repeatedly defaulted to narrow interpretations of jurisdiction and authority rather than pressing forward with a comprehensive enterprise-level investigation. The cumulative effect has been devastating: a case marked not by a lack of information, but by a pattern of hesitation and retreat that undermined accountability and deepened mistrust in the Bureau’s handling of one of the most consequential criminal investigations of its era.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

1 Jan 11min

Happy New Year to each and every one of you. As we step into this next chapter, I hope this year brings you health, stability, and moments of genuine peace in a world that rarely slows down. I hope it gives you clarity where there was uncertainty and strength where there was exhaustion. No matter what this past year took from you, you’re still here, and that matters. The fact that you continue to show up, listen, and care says a lot about who you are. I’m grateful beyond words that you choose to spend your time here, engaging with work that isn’t easy but is necessary. I truly wish nothing but the best for you and the people you love in the year ahead.I also want to sincerely thank you for staying engaged in the fight for truth and accountability around Jeffrey Epstein. Your attention, your questions, and your refusal to let this story fade are what keep pressure where it belongs. This fight only continues because people like you refuse to look away. Every message, every share, every conversation helps keep the truth alive. Your commitment has made a real difference, whether you realize it or not. As we move into this new year together, know that your support matters deeply and that this work continues because of you. Here’s to a strong, healthy, and determined year ahead for all of us.to contact  me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

1 Jan 11min

The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive account revealing what it says was the specific incident that led Donald Trump to ban Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago’s spa in 2003. According to the report, Mar-a-Lago had been sending spa employees to provide services at Epstein’s nearby Palm Beach mansion for years, even as staff privately warned one another about Epstein’s increasingly inappropriate behavior. The practice continued until an 18-year-old beautician returned from a house call and reported that Epstein had pressured her for sex; a manager then sent Trump a fax about the allegation, and Trump responded by ordering Epstein banned from the club’s spa. The Journal’s account also notes that Epstein wasn’t a formal club member yet was treated “like one” on Trump’s instruction.The report situates that episode as the first clear break in Trump and Epstein’s relationship, though the two continued to be seen together socially for a time afterward. Mar-a-Lago staffers told the WSJ that Epstein’s companion Ghislaine Maxwell regularly coordinated the spa visits — including recruiting young employees — and that concerns about Epstein’s conduct were known internally before the 2003 complaint. Trump’s current White House has disparaged the WSJ story as politically motivated, with spokespeople saying he acted appropriately in banning Epstein for alleged misconduct toward employees.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:New report digs in on details of the incident that reportedly caused Trump to ban Epstein from Mar-a-Lago | The IndependentBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

1 Jan 13min