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Acosta to Resign as Trump’s Labor Secretary After Epstein Plea Deal Acosta to Resign as Trump’s Labor Secretary Over Epstein Plea Deal
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that R. Alexander Acosta, his embattled secretary of labor, will resign following controversy over his handling of a sex crimes case involving the financier Jeffrey E. Epstein when Mr. Acosta was a federal prosecutor in Florida. WASHINGTON — President Trump’s embattled labor secretary, R. Alexander Acosta, on Friday announced his plans to resign as controversy lingered over his handling of a sex crimes case involving a financier, Jeffrey E. Epstein, when Mr. Acosta was a federal prosecutor in Florida.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Acosta had called him on Friday morning and informed him of his decision to step down. The two men stood side by side on the South Lawn of the White House and spoke to reporters before the president left for travel to Milwaukee and Cleveland. Mr. Trump said Mr. Acosta had called him on Friday morning and informed him of his decision to step down.
Mr. Acosta’s resignation brings to four the number of cabinet agencies led by acting secretaries. The department’s deputy secretary, Patrick Pizzella, would assume the role of acting secretary, Mr. Trump said. “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,” the president wrote in a Twitter post after he stood with Mr. Acosta on the South Lawn of the White House and spoke to reporters before leaving for Milwaukee and Cleveland.
“This was him, not me,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Acosta has been a “great, great secretary” and a “tremendous talent” who is “a Hispanic man. He went to Harvard, a great student.” The resignation came two days after Mr. Acosta convened a news conference to defend his actions in the Epstein case in 2008 when Mr. Acosta was the United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Acosta’s resignation, effective July 19, brings to four the number of cabinet agencies led by acting secretaries. The department’s deputy secretary, Patrick Pizzella, would assuming the role of acting secretary, Mr. Trump said.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought new charges against Mr. Epstein this week, accusing him of child sex trafficking and reviving concerns about the federal government’s handling of accusations against Mr. Epstein more than a decade ago. The new charges also returned attention to Mr. Trump’s previous relationship with Mr. Epstein, whom he described as “a terrific guy” in 2002, and provided a new line of attack for some Democratic presidential candidates. Trouble for Mr. Acosta started this week when federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought new charges against Mr. Epstein, accusing him of child sex trafficking and reviving concerns about the federal government’s handling of accusations against him more than a decade ago. The new charges also returned attention to Mr. Trump’s previous relationship with Mr. Epstein, whom he described as “a terrific guy” in 2002, and provided a new line of attack for some Democratic presidential candidates.
On Thursday, congressional Democrats demanded a briefing from the Justice Department about a 2008 agreement by Mr. Acosta’s office not to prosecute Mr. Epstein, which included a promise to Mr. Epstein’s defense team that federal prosecutors would not notify his victims of the arrangement, a practice that was not only unusual but against the law. The secrecy around the negotiations raised questions why Mr. Epstein — whom Mr. Trump recently described as a “fixture” in Palm Beach, Fla., where the president’s Mar-a-Lago club is located — received such a lenient punishment. “This was him, not me,” the president said of Mr. Acosta’s decision to resign, adding that Mr. Acosta has been a “great, great secretary” and a “tremendous talent” who is “a Hispanic man. He went to Harvard, a great student.” The resignation came two days after Mr. Acosta convened a news conference to defend his actions in the Epstein case in 2008 when Mr. Acosta was the United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
When federal agents raided Mr. Epstein’s New York mansion in recent days, they found lewd photographs of girls. Prosecutors accused him and his employees of running a sex-trafficking scheme to bring dozens of girls — some as young as 14 — to his homes in New York and Palm Beach between 2002 and 2005. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison. Mr. Acosta has said the decision was the best under the circumstances at the time to ensure that Mr. Epstein would face jail time. Going to trial with the goal of a harsher sentence, he said, would have been “a roll of the dice.” He said he wanted to help Mr. Epstein’s victims. “And that’s what the prosecutors of my office did — they insisted that he go to jail and put the world on notice that he was and is a sexual predator,” he said.
Some of the women who have accused Mr. Epstein of sex crimes have been speaking publicly for the first time in recent days. “I’m ecstatic,” said Spencer Kuvin, a Florida-based lawyer who has been representing three of Epstein’s accusers. “This is one step in the right direction.” Mr. Acosta offered a similar defense to senators during his confirmation process to be labor secretary in 2017, when he weathered criticism about the Epstein plea deal and won confirmation in a 60-to-38 vote. But this week’s hourlong explanation appeared insufficient to stem outrage after new federal charges revealed lewd details about Mr. Epstein’s relations with vulnerable and underage girls.
Mr. Trump on Friday repeated that he cut ties with Mr. Epstein years ago after a falling-out. Prosecutors accused Mr. Epstein and his employees of running a sex-trafficking scheme to bring dozens of girls — some as young as 14 — to his homes in New York and Palm Beach, Fla., from 2002 to 2005. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison.
“I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years or more. I wasn’t a big fan of Jeffrey Epstein, that I can tell you,” Mr. Trump said. On Thursday, congressional Democrats demanded a briefing from the Justice Department about the 2008 agreement by Mr. Acosta’s office not to prosecute Mr. Epstein, which included a promise to Mr. Epstein’s defense team that federal prosecutors would not notify his victims of the arrangement, a practice that was not only unusual but against the law. The secrecy around the negotiations raised questions why Mr. Epstein — whom Mr. Trump recently described as a “fixture” in Palm Beach, where the president’s Mar-a-Lago club is — received such a lenient punishment.
Though Mr. Trump praised Mr. Acosta’s accomplishments, citing strong employment numbers, many in the business community, normally an ally of Republican-appointed labor secretaries, had grown weary of Mr. Acosta. Employer groups and management-side lawyers complained that he had moved too slowly to tilt overtime pay and employer liability policies in a more laissez-faire direction. The president repeated on Friday that he cut ties with Mr. Epstein years ago after a falling-out.
“I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years or more. I wasn’t a big fan of Jeffrey Epstein, that I can tell you,” said.
Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represents several of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, said Mr. Acosta never belonged in the position in Mr. Trump’s administration.
“President Trump was willing to overlook Acosta’s sweetheart deal with Epstein when he appointed Acosta, even though many raised this issue at the time,” Ms. Bloom said in an email. “Acosta has abused his public trust and should never have been appointed in the first place.”
She said her clients were struggling with memories of the sexual abuse, prompted by news of the new charges, “but also hopeful that accountability may really, finally, at last be possible.”
Though Mr. Trump praised Mr. Acosta’s accomplishments as labor secretary, the resignation could be seen as a gift by many in the American business community, typically an ally of Republican-appointed labor secretaries, who have grown weary of him. Employer groups and management-side lawyers complained that he had moved too slowly to tilt overtime pay and employer liability policies in a more laissez-faire direction. Some feared Mr. Acosta was secretly a Democrat, an accusation he denied on Friday.
Praising the strong economy and low unemployment numbers, Mr. Acosta said, “The focus needs to be on this economy and on job creation, on the decreased fatalities in the workplace and in mining. And going forward, that’s where this administration needs to focus, not on this matter.”