USA TODAY International Edition
Acosta defends role in ’07 plea deal
Labor chief says goal was Epstein behind bars
WASHINGTON – Brushing aside calls for his resignation, embattled Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defiantly defended his role in a plea agreement with sex-trafficking defendant Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago, saying the multimillionaire would have avoided jail time without the deal.
“The goal here was straightforward – put Epstein behind bars,” Acosta said at a nearly hourlong news conference. “We believe we proceeded appropriately.”
Acosta’s role in negotiating the plea deal with Epstein is again under scrutiny following Epstein’s arrest Saturday on charges of sex trafficking girls as young as 14.
Epstein, 66, pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court Monday. The indictment against him alleges that he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes” in New York and Palm Beach, Florida.
In November, the Miami Herald published an in-depth look at the 2007 negotiations that showed Acosta – then the top federal prosecutor in Miami – was directly involved in cutting a deal with Epstein’s lawyers.
Under that deal, the wealthy and influential hedge fund manager agreed to plead guilty to two state felony prostitution charges, pay restitution to his victims, register as a sex offender and serve 13 months in county jail.
But Epstein was able to serve much of that sentence from his Palm Beach office as part of a work-release program. He had faced a possible life sentence if convicted on the federal charges looming over him.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Acosta insisted the plea deal – and his role in it – has been mischaracterized.
“Facts are important, and facts are being overlooked,” Acosta said.
Acosta said that, under his leadership, the U.S. attorney’s office stepped into the case only after a state grand jury in Palm Beach brought the initial charges against Epstein. But he said state prosecutors were prepared to offer Epstein a deal that would let him avoid jail time and would not have required him to register as a sex offender or pay restitution to his victims.