Dems want Acosta to quit for role in Jeffrey Epstein plea deal
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WASHINGTON - A growing collection of congressional Democrats say President Donald Trump's labor secretary should resign because of his role in a 2008 plea deal that let a billionaire financier escape prison time for alleged sex crimes.
Among the Democrats calling Tuesday for Alexander Acosta to resign were Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a 2020 presidential candidate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday night that Acosta should step aside.
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Jeffrey Epstein is accused of paying underage girls for massages and molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York.
Acosta was a federal prosecutor in South Florida when he was involved in a secret 2008 plea deal that let Epstein avoid federal charges.
That investigation involved at least 40 teenage girls. The agreement allowed him to avoid a possible life sentence.
Epstein was charged in New York on Monday in a new federal indictment accusing him of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
Court documents unsealed Monday show wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein is charged with creating and maintaining a network that allowed him to sexually exploit and abuse dozens of underage girls.