Prominent criminal defense attorney and partner at Steptoe and Johnson who represented Jeffrey Epstein during the original 2007-2008 plea negotiations with federal and state prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida. Weingarten is widely regarded as one of the leading white-collar defense lawyers in Washington, D.C., with a client list that has included senior government officials, Fortune 500 executives, and other high-profile defendants. In the Epstein matter, he worked alongside Jay Lefkowitz and Alan Dershowitz to negotiate the non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state charges in Florida while avoiding federal prosecution on more serious sex trafficking counts.
The agreement drew sustained criticism from victims, advocacy groups, and legal scholars for its secrecy and for the government's failure to notify the victims as required by federal law. Weingarten later represented other prominent clients in politically sensitive matters and testified or provided information in connection with subsequent oversight investigations. His name appears throughout the EFTA case files in correspondence, motion practice, and plea-related filings from the 2007-2008 period.