News
Embattled Secretary Acosta Defends His Job by Claiming ‘Epstein Would Have Gotten Away’ Had He Not Stepped In

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta on Wednesday was forced to hold a last-straw press conference in an attempt to save his job. Acosta was the federal prosecutor who handed child rapist Jeffrey Epstein a sweetheart non-prosecution agreement that allowed the billionaire to plead guilty to fewer and lesser charges. Had he been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law some say he could have been jailed for life.
Secretary Acosta told reporters “Epstein would have gotten away” with no prison time had he and his office not stepped in. Framing himself as a hard-hitting prosecutor, Acosta says state officials who were prosecuting the case were ready to let Epstein walk.
But a just-published report at The Daily Beast tells a far different tale of what Acosta allegedly told the Trump transition team. Essentially, that Epstein was somehow protected by the intelligence community.
“Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?” Acosta had been asked. Acosta had explained, breezily, apparently, that back in the day he’d had just one meeting on the Epstein case. He’d cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told” to back off, that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone,” he told his interviewers in the Trump transition, who evidently thought that was a sufficient answer and went ahead and hired Acosta.
Video from the currently-ongoing press conference – will continue to update:
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta speaks on the Jeffrey Epstein case following calls for Acosta’s resignation: “Times have changed and coverage of this case has certainly changed. … this matter started as a state matter” pic.twitter.com/4CLxGvpdRQ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 10, 2019
UPDATE:
MSNBC’s Zerlina Maxwell weighs in –
this press conference is GROTESQUE. Acosta is trying to fame this like he’s some sort of hero!
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) July 10, 2019
Bloomberg News reporter:
The Acosta press conference ran 53 minutes and he never offered any kind of apology to the victims, even when asked if he would.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) July 10, 2019
More:
Acosta says he wished for the investigations that have been rumored over the years to get Epstein because "he's a bad man."
Legal experts say there was nothing that mandated his office stopped the investigation when it did.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 10, 2019
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.
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