Secretary Acosta Must Resign as Jeffrey Epstein Finally Faces Real Justice
Acosta Should Have Been Gone the Day a Federal Judge Ruled He Broke the Law By Not Disclosing His Wrist-Slap Plea Deal for Epstein to the Victims
Washington D.C. (July 8th, 2019) – Following this morning’s press conference with federal prosecutors in New York announcing Jeffrey Epstein has been charged with sex trafficking involving underage girls and that child pornography had been recently found at his residence, Allied Progress called on Trump Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to immediately resign over his inexcusable and illegal mishandling of the case when he was a U.S. Attorney that allowed an alleged serial child sex predator to walk free the last ten years.
“Secretary Acosta should have resigned the day a federal judge found Acosta broke the law when he decided the victims didn’t need to know that he planned to let their alleged abuser escape serious jail time and enjoy cushy work release privileges,” said Derek Martin, director of consumer watchdog group Allied Progress. “In response to the ruling, Acosta made no apologies and went about his business, whether that was because President Trump did not care, or the Secretary still considers his handling of the case a “point of pride”, or both. Secretary Acosta can’t shrug off his past any longer. With these new charges, Secretary Acosta must finally take responsibility for the fact he let an alleged serial child sex predator walk the streets and jet across continents for the last ten years. Acosta’s dangerous lack of judgement is painfully clear and he should not be serving the public in any capacity, let alone in the upper levels of a president’s administration where he could allow the powerful to exploit the powerless on a much larger scale.”
Added Martin: “No thanks to Secretary Acosta, Jeffrey Epstein’s victims are finally getting their day in court after watching their horror stories swept under the rug to protect the rich and well-connected. All those who suffered abuse under Epstein deserve a full investigation into how this case was mishandled by Acosta and his office from day one. The Senate has still refused to give the Justice Department Inspector General the authority he asked for to conduct a serious inquiry into Acosta’s mishandling of the Epstein case. Why?”
BACKGROUND: In February, Allied Progress launched a digital ad campaignurging Senators hold Acosta accountable by moving forward on H.R. 202, the Inspector General Access Act, which would give the DOJ Inspector General the authority he asked for to conduct a serious investigation into Acosta’s prosecutorial misconduct in the Epstein case. In March, Allied Progress ran full page adsin the home state newspapers of Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) calling on these members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to stop obstructing the Inspector General Access Act.
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