Labor secretary defends his plea deal with Epstein
Democrats call for Acosta’s ouster over handling of sex crimes case involving minors.
WASHINGTON — Insisting he got the best deal he could at the time, Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta on Wednesday defended his handling of a sextrafficking case involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein as he tried to stave off intensifying Democratic calls for his resignation.
“Facts are important and facts are being overlooked,” Acosta told a news conference at Labor Department headquarters, where he retraced steps federal prosecutors took in the case a decade ago when he was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Acosta said state authorities planned to go after Epstein with charges that would have resulted in no jail time until his own office intervened and pressed for tougher consequences.
Acosta is being criticized for his part in the secret 2008 plea deal he signed that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution on charges that he molested teenage girls. But the Labor secretary was unapologetic Wednesday as he declared his office did the best it could under the circumstances.
The deal Acosta helped broker has come under new scrutiny after prosecutors in New York brought new child sex-trafficking charges Monday alleging Epstein abused dozens of underage girls in the early 2000s, paying them hundreds of dollars for massages, then molesting them at his Florida and New York homes. Epstein has pleaded not guilty; if convicted he could be imprisoned for life.
Acosta said he welcomed the new case, saying of Epstein: “His acts are despicable.” Earlier he defended himself on Twitter, crediting “new evidence and additional testimony” uncovered by prosecutors in New York for providing “an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice.”
“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific, and I am pleased that N.Y. prosecutors are moving forward with a case,” Acosta wrote.
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, also defended Acosta’s conduct, telling reporters, “The reality is that the defense attorneys in that case actually tried to get Alex removed because they thought he was such an aggressive prosecutor in this case.”
“As you heard Alex say yesterday, we welcome the fact that there is additional evidence that can be prosecuted,” Short added. “The crimes are atrocities and certainly should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
President Trump has also defended Acosta, praising his work as Labor secretary and saying he felt “very badly” for him.
“I’ve known him as being somebody that works so hard and has done such a good job,” Trump said. Still, he said he would be looking at the circumstances of the case “very closely.”
Trump has shown a pattern of reluctance to fire even his most embattled aides. For instance, he took months to dismiss Scott Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency administrator despite a dizzying array of scandals, and allowed Jeff Sessions to remain as attorney general for more than a year even as he railed at and belittled him.
Trump typically lets his Cabinet secretaries defend themselves publicly before deciding whether to pull the plug.
The president, who once praised Epstein as “a terrific guy,” disassociated himself Tuesday from the wealthy hedge fund manager now charged with abusing minors, saying the two had a falling-out 15 or so years ago and hadn’t spoken since.
Democratic presidential contenders and party leaders want Acosta to resign or be fired over the 2008 deal that many prosecutors have said was unusually lenient. Under the deal, Epstein pleaded guilty to lesser state charges, averting a possible life sentence, and served 13 months in a work-release program. He was also required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
Democratic Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Jamie Raskin of Maryland sent Acosta a letter Wednesday inviting him to testify July 23.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) welcomed that move, saying Acosta “has a disturbing record on sexual and human trafficking that stretches from the horribly permissive plea agreement he gave to Jeffrey Epstein, up to his time now as Labor secretary.”