Daily Times (Primos, PA)

Labor Secretary Acosta resigning amid Epstein deal scrutiny

- By Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin

WASHINGTON >> Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Friday he is resigning following renewed scrutiny of his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein , who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

President Donald Trump, with Acosta at his side, made the announceme­nt as he left the White House for a trip to Wisconsin and Ohio. The president said “I hate to see this happen” and he did not ask Acosta to leave the Cabinet. But conservati­ves, who are unhappy with steps Acosta has taken at the department, had been pushing for his ouster.

Trump, who publicly faults the news media nearly every day, said Acosta put the blame there, too, for his departure.

The president tweeted from aboard Air Force One that Acosta “informed me this morning that he felt the constant drumbeat of press about a prosecutio­n which took place under his watch more than 12 years ago was bad for the Administra­tion, which he so strongly believes in, and he graciously tendered his resignatio­n.”

Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Miami when he oversaw a 2008 non-prosecutio­n agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges but plead guilty to state charges and serve

13 months in jail. Similar charges filed against Epstein by federal prosecutor­s in New York this week had put Acosta’s handling of the

2008 agreement with the now-jailed financier back in the spotlight.

Over the years, Epstein has counted Trump and former President Bill Clinton among his powerful friends, and Trump was quoted in 2002 as saying the financier was “a lot of fun to be with,” a “terrific guy” of whom “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Trump now says he and Epstein had a fallingout and he is “not a fan.”

Acosta said his resignatio­n would be effective in seven days. He said he didn’t think it was right for his handling of Epstein’s case to distract from the president’s agenda and his work as secretary of labor.

“My point here today is we have an amazing economy, and the focus needs to be on the economy,” Acosta said.

Top Democratic lawmakers and presidenti­al candidates had demanded that Acosta resign. But Acosta defended his actions, insisting at a news conference Wednesday that he got the toughest deal on Epstein that he could get at the time.

A federal judge said Acosta violated federal law by not notifying Epstein’s victims of the arrangemen­t. The Justice Department has been investigat­ing.

A Florida lawyer who represents several Epstein victims welcomed of Acosta’s resignatio­n.

“Mr. Acosta broke the law when he was a U.S. attorney by failing to keep the victims informed about the negotiatio­ns taking place in 2008,” said attorney Spencer Kuvin. “We should never allow an official who has been held to break the law by a Federal Court, to hold an office in the president’s Cabinet. His resignatio­n today is hopefully only the first step in holding those accountabl­e.”

Acosta had also frustrated some conservati­ves who had been pushing for his ouster long before the Epstein uproar. Among their objections were Acosta’s decisions to proceed with several employment discrimina­tion lawsuits and to allow certain Obama administra­tion holdovers to keep their jobs.

Trump had initially defended Acosta but said he’d look “very closely” at his handling of the 2008 agreement.

The deal had come under scrutiny earlier this year following reporting by The Miami Herald.

Epstein, 66, reached the deal to secretly end a federal sex abuse investigat­ion involving at least 40 teenage girls that could have landed him behind bars for life. He instead pleaded guilty to Florida state charges, spent 13 months in jail, paid settlement­s to victims and registered as a sex offender.

Acosta had attempted to clear his name, and held a news conference — encouraged by Trump — to defend his actions. In a 50-plusminute lawyerly rebuttal, Acosta argued his office had secured the best deal it could at the time and had worked in the best interests of Epstein’s victims.

“We did what we did because we wanted to see Epstein go to jail,” he said. “We believe that we proceeded appropriat­ely.”

Pressed on whether he had any regrets, Acosta repeatedly said circumstan­ces had changed since then.

“We now have 12 years of knowledge and hindsight and we live in a very different world,” he said. “Today’s world treats victims very, very differentl­y.”

After federal attorneys in New York announced the new charges against Epstein this week, Acosta tweeted that he was pleased by their decision.

“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific,” Acosta tweeted. “With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutor­s insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator.”

“Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecutio­n offers an important opportunit­y to more fully bring him to justice.”

Acosta took office as the nation’s 27th labor secretary in early 2017, leading a sprawling agency that enforces more than 180 federal laws covering about 10 million employers and 125 million workers. The department also plays a role in combatting human traffickin­g.

Trump said Acosta would be replaced by Pat Pizzella, currently the department’s deputy secretary.

 ?? ANDREW HARNIK - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, right, accompanie­d President Donald Trump, left, speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, before Trump boards Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. and then on to Wisconsin. Trump says Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to step down, move comes in wake of handling of Jeffrey Epstein case.
ANDREW HARNIK - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, right, accompanie­d President Donald Trump, left, speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, before Trump boards Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. and then on to Wisconsin. Trump says Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to step down, move comes in wake of handling of Jeffrey Epstein case.

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