{"id":655511,"date":"2019-07-12T20:08:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T20:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"
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US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta is resigning amid criticism of his brokering of a plea deal for financier Jeffrey Epstein in a child sex case.<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta, a former Florida prosecutor, made the announceme"},"modified":"2019-07-12T20:08:29","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T20:08:29","slug":"us-labour-secretary-alex-acosta-resigns-over-child-sex-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/12\/us-labour-secretary-alex-acosta-resigns-over-child-sex-case\/","title":{"rendered":"US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta resigns over child sex case"},"content":{"rendered":"

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US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta is resigning amid criticism of his brokering of a plea deal for financier Jeffrey Epstein in a child sex case.<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta, a former Florida prosecutor, made the announcement from the White House lawn on Friday with President Donald Trump stood by his side.<\/p>\n

Democrats had called for him to quit over his handling of the Epstein case.<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta defended the secretly-negotiated plea deal in a news conference only two days ago.<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta was the US Attorney in Miami in 2008 when he oversaw a non-prosecution deal against Epstein which allowed Epstein to serve 13 months in jail \u2013 with much of that time spent on work release at his Palm Beach office. Epstein\u2019s conduct has come into sharper focus since he was arrested and charged on Monday with sex trafficking underage girls.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump told reporters that he and Mr Acosta spoke on the phone earlier on Friday and that it was Mr Acosta\u2019s decision to step down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was him not me,\u201d Mr Trump said, adding that Mr Acosta was \u201ca tremendous talent\u201d who \u201cwent to Harvard\u201d University. Earlier this week, Mr Trump told reporters that he felt badly for his labour secretary, but added that he did not know him personally before hiring him.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>
<\/figure>\n

Mr Acosta told reporters: \u201cI do not think it is right and fair\u2026 to have Epstein as the focus rather than the incredible economy that we have today\u201d.<\/p>\n

But he added: \u201cIt would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that\u2019s 12 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Pizzella, the current labour deputy secretary, will become acting secretary when Mr Acosta officially steps down in one week, Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Alex Acosta gave a dispassionate, legalistic defence of his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, more than a decade ago. It wasn\u2019t enough to save his job. Given how quickly he departed after his performance, it wasn\u2019t even close.<\/p>\n

The former US attorney attempted to shift blame to state prosecutors and justify his decisions based on changing expectations in sex crimes cases. He never adequately explained why the circumstances at the time required that he offer such a lenient deal to Epstein or seal the damning details of the original indictment, instead of building a stronger case with further investigation.<\/p>\n

The Epstein case is a perfect storm of scandal and outrage. It mixes allegations of sex crimes with abuse of power and influence reaching into the highest corridors of US political and financial power.<\/p>\n

Now the toxic swirl has claimed its first high-profile name. Depending on how the story evolves, Mr Acosta may not be the last.<\/p>\n

With his departure, the number of temporary, \u201cacting\u201d Cabinet-level positions in the Trump administration now stands at four out of 11. The level of churn in his administration, whether through scandal, burn-out or presidential disfavour, is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

\"Presentational<\/span><\/figure>\n
\"JeffreyJeffrey Epstein, left, with Donald Trump at the current president\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 1997<\/span><\/figure>\n

Who is Jeffrey Epstein?<\/h4>\n

The 66-year-old wealthy financier was charged with running a sex ring of underage girls after being arrested in New Jersey on Monday. He has long been surrounded by the rich and powerful, including President Trump, former President Bill Clinton and the UK\u2019s Prince Andrew.<\/p>\n

In a 2002 magazine profile, he said: \u201cI invest in people, be it politics or science. It\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Mr Trump reiterated \u201cI\u2019m not a fan of Jeffrey Epstein\u201d after earlier saying they had a falling out \u201c12 or 15 years ago\u201d with him. \u201cI threw him out of a club. I didn\u2019t want anything to do with him,\u201d Mr Trump said about this former friend, as Mr Acosta stood at his side.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows you one thing. I have good taste,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Presentational<\/span><\/figure>\n

How did Acosta defend the deal?<\/h4>\n

\u201cI wanted to help them,\u201d Mr Acosta said of the 36 victims identified in the case against Epstein, during the hour-long press conference at the labour department on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we intervened,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what the prosecutors of my office did \u2013 they insisted that he go to jail and put the world on notice that he was and is a sexual predator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta did not apologise for his handling of the case, saying only that the deal \u2013 which closed the FBI investigation into whether there were more victims or perpetrators \u2013 was a guarantee of jail time. He said that seeking a life sentence in a jury trial would have amounted to a \u201croll of the dice\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have 12 years of knowledge and hindsight and we live in a very different world. Today\u2019s world treats victims very, very differently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What was Epstein\u2019s punishment?<\/h2>\n

The details of the agreement overseen by Mr Acosta were first revealed in a Miami Herald investigation earlier this year, with the newspaper saying that Epstein had been given \u201cthe deal of a lifetime\u201d.<\/p>\n

It allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges, and instead serve 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to state charges including solicitation of prostitution (including one charge involving a minor under the age of 18).<\/p>\n

Mr Acosta had been under pressure from Democrats to quit. A federal judge ruled that the deal violated the Crime Victims\u2019 Rights Act because Mr Acosta did not notify Epstein\u2019s victims of the arrangement.<\/p>\n

The deal is also being scrutinised by the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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