TEHRAN, Jul 11 -U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta on Wednesday dismissed calls for his resignation and defended a controversial non-prosecution agreement he approved more than 10 years ago with financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has now been charged with sex trafficking in underage girls.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Acosta, who was a top U.S. prosecutor in Florida at the time, has been the target of criticism that his office approved a lenient deal for Epstein, which has received renewed attention in the wake of new charges filed against Epstein this week. Instead of prosecuting Epstein on a federal level, Acosta’s office agreed to have the billionaire ink a plea deal with state prosecutors that resulted in a lax sentence.
Acosta disputed that his office let Epstein get off easily and argued that, had his team not stepped in, Epstein would have only faced one charge from state prosecutors and would have avoided any jail time. He said that at the time, a trial would have been difficult because the witnesses would have faced intense scrutiny from a team of defense attorneys.
“Without the work of our prosecutors, Epstein would have gotten away with just that state charge” and avoided jail time, Acosta said. “He was and is a sexual predator.”
Ultimately, Epstein served time in jail but was granted daily work release, allowing him to leave each morning and return in the evening. Acosta said he was not aware Epstein would be able to qualify for work release.
“When we proceeded, the expectation was it would be an 18-month sentence. ... So this work release was complete BS,” Acosta said.
Acosta is the latest in a series of President Donald Trump’s cabinet secretaries to become embroiled in controversy. Trump has frequently provided backing to his embattled aides but then abandoned them weeks later, pushing them to resign after previously vocalizing support.
Acosta would not say if he would make the same decision regarding Epstein today.
In the intervening decade, the #MeToo movement, which was born in the aftermath of an uprising of women in the wake of Trump’s election and spurred by accusations against powerful men such as movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, has caused a shift in the way women who make accusations are viewed in public opinion.
“We live in a different world; today’s world does not allow some of the victim shaming that would have taken place at trial 12 years ago,” Acosta said. “I don’t think we can say, take a case that is this old and fully know how it would play out today.”
Acosta gave no indication he would resign after days of calls by Democrats for him to step down and said he has Trump’s support.
“My relationship with the president is outstanding,” Acosta said.
Democrats remained unsatisfied with Acosta’s explanation of his role in the Epstein case.
Source: reuters
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