BREAKING NEWS: Alex Acosta defends 2008 deal he cut with Jeffrey Epstein

[DonViejo]

Dem leaders demand Alex Acosta's ouster

Chuck Schumer and his deputies called on the Labor secretary's ouster over his 'sweetheart' plea deal with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

By BURGESS EVERETT 07/09/2019 11:10 AM EDT Updated 07/09/2019 12:00 PM EDT

Updated at 12:00 p.m. ET

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who is under fire for the deal he previously cut with Jeffrey Epstein, went on the offensive on Tuesday, saying he supports the new charges against the billionaire financier while defending his own past actions.

“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific, and I am pleased that NY prosecutors are moving forward with a case based on new evidence,” tweeted Acosta, who had cut a 2008 deal with Epstein that allowed him to avoid significant prison time.

“With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator,” he continued. “Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice.”

----------------------

Earlier:

The top three Senate Democratic leaders are calling on Alex Acosta to resign as Labor secretary, slamming his previous leniency toward Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with running a sex ring of underage girls.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/09/alex-acosta-resign-jeffrey-epstein-1402980

[MrsCoffee]

1. Of course he does.

Piece of shit doing what pieces of shit do.

[Iliyah]

2. Ditto.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

3. Slime.

[Corgigal]

4. Perv

Are you on tape too?

[ehrnst]

5. Of course he did. He only say that he did nothing wrong, and that a judge

agreed.

Until there is evidence that his "sweetheart" deal of a lifetime broke any laws, or involved quid pro quo, then he's not going to budge.

He will repeat that over and over again, to any committee and any reporter.

[EleanorR]

20. A federal judge did rule that Acosta broke the law!

The DOJ supposedly opened an investigation, but I don't expect that to go anywhere with Barr in charge.

[ehrnst]

28. Mea culpa. He will say that it was before he took office, and everyone knew about his

deal in the case prior to him taking office.

And yes, with Barr in charge, nothing "serious" will be found, and Trump will say that he was persecuted by an activist judge.

It's doubtful that the Senate will remove him in impeachment hearings, so we're left with DT firing him, or him resigning.

All the other cabinet members who are gone resigned or were fired for their activities while in the cabinet, so he will likely end up like Devos. Bad reputation, but remains in the cabinet.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/all-we-know-about-the-new-case-against-jeffrey-epstein.html

[gratuitous]

6. Quick question, Alex?

Why did you keep the victims in the dark about the deal you and the other prosecutors worked with Epstein? By the way, you claim that Epstein went to jail, but really he didn't, did he? He was on work release for 13 months, which doesn't seem much like jail.

[dalton99a]

7. +1. Acosta's deception was preplanned.

[matt819]

8. Not surprised

This is what they do. They double down. Never apologize, never explain.

[Leghorn21]

14. It's the patented Roy Cohn method, matt!!

But you know...the shit is getting really REALLY deep, as of Saturday night...I dunno if their stance is sustainable anymore...

As MF45 might say, “We’ll see what happens!”

[Leghorn21]

9. Mimi says

“Noteworthy from the SDNY bail memo on Epstein:
Florida prosecutors not only knew Epstein was a
sexual predator but also that he harassed &
intimidated the victims & their families to stop
them from testifying. No federal prosecutor should
let conduct like that go. Acosta did.”

Link to tweet

Fuck off, LOSER
You won’t survive this

[spanone]

10. Tell that to the victims acosta...you

piece of shit.

[RockRaven]

11. Such BS. It was against the wishes of local investigators, illegally kept secret from the victims,

and FOR NO VALID PROSECUTORIAL REASON provided immunity to Epstein's co-conspirators.

[brooklynite]

12. UPDATE: Trump feels sorry...

Link to tweet

[maxsolomon]

17. He's being treated very unfairly.

Many people are saying, believe me.

[Goodheart]

13. I think it's safe to assume that Acosta got paid for his leniency.

I'd bet my life on it.

[ehrnst]

15. That's what we need to have locked down prior to going after him. (nt)

[watoos]

24. Why?

I have seen enough that Acosta needs to go. He is cutting 80% out of his Dept of Labor budget than deals with sex trafficking.

[ehrnst]

26. You and I don't make that decision. A cabinet member has to resign, be fired, or impeached.

The Senate won't remove via impeachment, so that's out.

Other cabinet members have resigned or been fired because of what they did - or didn't - do while as a cabinet member.

If previous cabinet vacancies are any indication, Trump won't ask for a resignation, and Acosta won't offer one, unless there is evidence of serious, provable criminal activity before entering office - bribery, extortion, quid pro quo, etc, or proven incompetence, clear personal gain/use of Gov't resources for personal gain or insubordination to Trump while in office.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/16/us/politics/all-the-major-firings-and-resignations-in-trump-administration.html

Unless there is one or more of the above, and that causes Trump to "see enough" Acosta will stay. As long as Trump is happy with Acosta, Acosta will stay. See also Betsy Devos.

[maxsolomon]

18. I don't think that's likely.

Acosta's a Republican. He probably cut the deal to protect other Repukes/rich fucks who associated with Epstein.

"No one wants this story in the papers", something like that.

Like Bill Barr, money isn't the prime motivator for corruption.

[ScratchCat]

21. I agree

As the other Florida sex trafficking case that involves the massage parlor and the Chinese lady was being covered up by Florida AG Pam Bondi for several years because of the number of "important" GOPers who were utilizing the services.

[Botany]

16. Didn't Acosta's deal with Epstein let him leave the prison during the day as he did ...

... his time?

[dalton99a]

19. Epstein was allowed to leave the prison for 12 hours per day, six days a week.

Nice deal

[Botany]

23. Kind of like Pablo Escobar's time in prison in Columbia?

From Wiki

Escobar surrendered to Colombian authorities in 1991. Before he gave himself up, the extradition of Colombian citizens to the United States had been prohibited by the newly approved Colombian Constitution of 1991. This act was controversial, as it was suspected that Escobar and other drug lords had influenced members of the Constituent Assembly in passing the law. Escobar was confined in what became his own luxurious private prison, La Catedral, which featured a football pitch, giant doll house, bar, jacuzzi and waterfall. Accounts of Escobar's continued criminal activities while in prison began to surface in the media, which prompted the government to attempt to move him to a more conventional jail on 22 July 1992. Escobar's influence allowed him to discover the plan in advance and make a successful escape, spending the remainder of his life evading the police.

*******

Epstein must have needed the off day just to rest up.

[Trenzalore]

22. Did they execute a search warrant in the 2000s

Given the amount of filth they found today I cannot imagine Epstein was more careful before getting caught and being forced to register as a sex offender.

[ehrnst]

27. Google is helpful with those kinds of questions

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/all-we-know-about-the-new-case-against-jeffrey-epstein.html

[Midnightwalk]

25. Billionaire accepted a year in jail

And we’re supposed to believe there wasn’t a better case? The only way Epstein took that deal was he convinced he was going to get the 300+ year minimum.

Screw Acosta. There may not be a direct paper trail but why did he get picked to be secretary of labor? Letting Epstein slide proved he was a friend of the billionaire class.

[Wednesdays]

29. Your last sentence indicates not a bug, but rather a feature