WASHINGTON (AP) – Trump says Labor Secretary Acosta stepping down; move comes after criticism of his handling of Jeffrey Epstein case.
Acosta orchestrated a plea deal in a decade-old case Epstein on sex crime charges when Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Florida’s Southern District. Acosta has been facing renewed scrutiny over the case after Epstein was arrested on new federal sex trafficking charges in New York last week.
President Trump announced the news with Acosta by his side at the White House as Trump left on a trip to the Midwest. Acosta said that stepping aside is the “right thing to do.”
As a result of the deal in 2008 Epstein dodged the bullet on federal charges and instead, spent only 13 months in county jail on state prostitution charges. He was allowed to leave six days a week for work.
(Associated Press)
