Alex Acosta defends Epstein plea deal: 'We proceeded appropriately'

Facing calls to resign, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defended his role in arranging a controversial plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a Florida prosecutor.

Over the weekend, Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges related to his alleged abuse of underage girls prior to the striking of the controversial 2008 deal. This indictment sparked increased calls for Acosta to resign from Democrats who said he mishandled the case.

"We believe that we proceeded appropriately," Acosta said of his handling of the case, while declining to say he has "no regrets" about it. The Labor secretary argued that the deal was necessary to ensure Epstein received prison time and had to register as a sex offender after state prosecutors were ready to let him avoid both. "We stopped a bad state plea," he later said. Epstein ultimately served 13 months in jail but was able to leave during the day six days a week.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Acosta also defended the decision to negotiate the non-prosecution agreement without keeping the victims informed, which a federal judge previously said was a violation of the law. Acosta said "we followed department policy" throughout the deal's negotiation, even if this judge "had a different view."

This press conference came after Acosta was "pushed into" doing so by Trump, reports The New York Times' Maggie Haberman. Asked about his relationship with the president, Acosta said it's "outstanding," also insisting his relationship with Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is "excellent" and that reports to the contrary are false. Politico previously reported Mulvaney has urged Trump to fire Acosta. Acosta denied he is trying to send a "signal" to Trump. Brendan Morrow