Harris campaign accepts money from partners of law firm she criticized over Epstein case

Partners from the law firm that represented financier Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago hosted a fundraiser for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) the same day that the 2020 presidential candidate criticized the firm over its role in negotiating Epstein’s 2008 plea deal.

The Chicago fundraiser was headlined by Harris’s husband, lawyer Douglas Emhoff, last week, according to The Associated Press, which obtained an invitation to the event. Six partners from the law firm Kirkland & Ellis hosted that event, the AP reported. 

Kirkland & Ellis represented Epstein more than a decade ago when the financier faced charges in Florida. Lawyers with the firm helped negotiate a plea deal for Epstein in which he pleaded guilty to a single count of soliciting prostitution from girls as young as 14.

{mosads}Epstein’s arrest and indictment last week on charges of sex trafficking has brought renewed attention to his 2008 plea deal.

In the wake of those new charges, Harris called on senior Justice Department officials who previously worked for Kirkland & Ellis to recuse themselves from any matter related to Epstein’s case, saying that the law firm’s work representing the financier “calls into question the integrity of our legal system.”

Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen are alumni of Kirkland & Ellis.

But according to the AP, six partners from the Chicago-based firm held a fundraiser benefiting Harris the same day she made those remarks. Ian Sams, a spokesman for Harris’s campaign, dismissed concerns about the fundraiser on Monday, noting in a tweet that Kirkland & Ellis employs more than 2,500 attorneys and has more than 1,000 partners.

(1) It’s an international law firm with 2,500 employees…
(2) It has *1,000* partners alone
(3) She is ripping their handling of Epstein, so what’s the concern exactly? That she’s beholden? Gimme a break…
(4) Barr/Rosen are now overseeing prosecution so yeah they should recuse https://t.co/958QJabx3V

— Ian Sams (@IanSams) July 15, 2019

In a statement to the AP, Sams also noted that those involved in Epstein’s case in Florida years ago had not supported Harris’s presidential bid.

“The people involved in that case have not supported her campaign, and she wouldn’t want that support anyway,” he said.

It’s not clear how much money Harris’s campaign raised from the fundraiser. Because the event took place last week, the money raised there will not be included in a batch of Federal Election Commission filings due on Monday.