Acosta Blames Grand Jury for Prostitution Charge: Epstein Update

Acosta to Defend Handling of the Florida Case: Epstein Update

11 Jul 2019, 08:44 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta defended his handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s plea deal when he was the top federal prosecutor in southern Florida over a decade ago, and said his relationship with Trump is good, despite the renewed scrutiny since Epstein’s arrest over the weekend on fresh charges out of New York.

The 2007 non-prosecution agreement allowed the wealthy money manager to dodge federal charges for having sex with minors and to serve just 13 months in a state prison. Most of that time was spent on work release, so he could run his fund from his office.

Here are the latest developments from the press conference:

Why a Prostitution Charge? (3:27 p.m.)

Epstein wound up pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in the Florida case. When asked why that was the deal after Acosta said he didn’t view the women as prostitutes, he said the state grand jury in Florida set the tone at the time.

“This was a state case,” he said. “The state grand jury returned a prostitution charge against him. That was state grand jury. He was allowed to self surrender by the state attorney’s office. That would have resulted in no jail time. What the agreement did was say he had to go back and plea to a more serious state charge that required jail time and registration.”

He didn’t directly answer a question about whether Epstein got special treatment due to his wealth or influence. Instead, he said that all along the goal of his office was for Epstein to serve time behind bars and register as a sex offender, and that the victims needed to be allowed to seek restitution. Acosta said he wasn’t ordered by anyone at DOJ to cut a deal with Epstein. -- Erik Larson

Epstein’s Work Release Was ‘BS’ (3:11 p.m.)

Acosta’s public affairs aide has tried several times to tell reporters this was the last question, but Acosta continues saying he wants to take more questions, even making a statement in Spanish for a Spanish-language reporter.

Another reporter asked Acosta if he considered Epstein’s victims to be prostitutes, given that the non-prosecution agreement required the money manager to plead guilty to state prostitution charges.

“No,” he said. “Victims, they were victims, end of story.”

Acosta also said Epstein’s work release during his jail term was “BS.” Outrage over that part of his incarceration is “completely appropriate.” -- Benjamin Penn and Erik Larson

‘You Need to Come Forward’ (3:05 p.m.)

Acosta said his message to victims is this: “You need to come forward. I heard this morning that another victim came forward and made horrendous horrendous allegations -- allegations that should never happen to any woman, much less a young girl.”

Acosta repeatedly returned to his office’s role in stepping into what started as a state matter, implying that he went above and beyond the call of duty.

“We stepped in in this case and we stopped a bad state player. I understand that from today’s perspective, people scratch their heads and say why,“ Acosta said. “But how many times have you seen a federal office step into a state matter and stay to stop the state plea because it is insufficient?” -- Erik Larson

Judge’s Criticism of Acosta’s Work (3:00 p.m.)

A reporter asked Acosta to respond to a judge’s ruling in February finding that he had violated federal law by failing to notify Epstein’s victims about the non-prosecution agreement.

“We followed department policy,” Acosta said. “I understand the judge had a different view.”

Congress has amended the relevant law since then, and the culture has changed in terms of how the victims might have been treated during a trial, Acosta said.

“We now have 12 years of knowledge and hindsight and we live in a very different world,” Acosta said. “Today’s world treats victims very very differently.”

And when asked why he didn’t just keep investigating since dozens of girls had been molested, Acosta responded that in his Florida district the victims had a chance to continue their cases in civil suits. -- Erik Larson

Acosta Should Resign, Pelosi Reiterates (2:58 p.m.)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked upon leaving a meeting on Capitol Hill that took place while Acosta’s press conference was underway, and she repeated her stance that Acosta should resign. -- Dan Flatley

Treatment of Epstein’s Victims (2:44 p.m.)

A reporter asked Acosta if he owes an apology to young women who told Acosta at the time that they’d been abused by Epstein and didn’t hear back from the prosecutor. Acosta said the deal with Epstein had an unusual provision that would let victims get restitution, and Epstein would have to pay for their lawyer.

“We wanted to win. We wanted to put Epstein away, and talking about this would allow him to make the argument at trial that their testimony was compromised.”

Even after Epstein got his lenient deal, he was eventually accused by some victims of violating the non-prosecution agreement by challenging his liability in their civil personal injury suits and failing to the legal fees to the lawyer for the victims as he was required to do. He settled that suit over fees for an undisclosed sum. -- Erik Larson

It’s Hard to Refuse a Plea in Favor of Trial (2:42 p.m.)

Acosta said it’s hard to weigh guilty pleas against trials.

“How do you weigh those two if going to trial is viewed as the role of a dice,” he said. “The goal here was straightforward - put Epstein behind bars and ensure he registered as sex offender.”

He’s focusing his defense of his actions on blaming state officials and a state grand jury that, according to Acosta, viewed evidence of Epstein’s behavior and only wanted to recommend a single charge.”

“A state grand jury brought that single completely unacceptable charge,” Acosta said. “A state official allowed Epstein to self surrender. So it is unusual - it’s unusual for a federal prosecutor to intervene in a state matter such as this.” -- Erik Larson

Acosta Calls Epstein Acts ‘Despicable’ (2:36 p.m.)

“Let me start by reiterating that I’m pleased that the New York prosecution is going forward,” Acosta said in opening the press conference. “They brought this on new evidence.”

“His acts are despicable and the New York prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring Epstein to justice,” Acosta said.

Acosta defended his handling of the case in 2007 and 2008, saying state authorities in Florida were willing to let Epstein “walk free” and that’s why his office intervened. Some victims refused to testify and some even exonerated Epstein, Acosta said. They wanted to remain private and didn’t want to be named, complicating prosecution.

The Background (2:30 p.m.)

Critics have called for Acosta to resign say Epstein shouldn’t have gotten such lenient deal after his federal investigators determined he sexually abused dozens of girls. Epstein’s deal has also been slammed for the way it was designed to make the case go away quietly; the victims weren’t notified and Acosta’s staff worked to keep the press from finding out about it.

The controversy was stoked anew on Monday when federal prosecutors unsealed fresh sex-trafficking charges against Epstein. Epstein’s lawyers argue vehemently that the Florida plea deal means he can’t be pursued in New York under double-jeopardy rules, a claim the prosecutors refute. -- Benjamin Penn and Erik Larson

Inside the press conference (2:15 p.m.)

The press conference room is packed with media. The room is right down the hall from the secretary’s executive suite, and three American flags are set up behind an empty lecturn. Multiple network TV crews here. Notably, Acosta will be accompanied by Erica Wright, the acting head of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau.

Wide speculation inside Labor Department is that Acosta will come out swinging to impress Trump (Kavanaugh-style) at the press conference. -- Benjamin Penn