Jennifer epstein

Jill Colvin and Richard Lardner Associated Press Published 10:40 AM EDT Jul 11, 2019 Washington – Trying to tamp down calls for his resignation, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defended his handling of a sex trafficking case involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein, insisting he got the toughest deal he could at the time. In a nearly hour-long news conference, Acosta retraced the steps that federal prosecutors took in the case when he was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida a decade ago, insisting that “in our heart we were trying to do the right thing for these victims.” He said prosecutors were working to avoid a more lenient arrangement that would have allowed Epstein to “walk free.” “We believe that we proceeded appropriately,” he said, a contention challenged by critics who say Epstein’s penalty was egregiously light. The episode reignited this week when federal prosecutors in New York brought a … [Read more...] about Acosta defends Epstein deal amid calls for his resignation

Jill Colvin and Richard Lardner Associated Press Published 6:23 PM EDT Jul 10, 2019 Washington — Trying to tamp down calls for his resignation, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defended his handling of a sex-trafficking case involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein, insisting he got the toughest deal he could at the time. In a nearly hour-long news conference, Acosta retraced the steps that federal prosecutors took in the case when he was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida a decade ago, insisting that “in our heart we were trying to do the right thing for these victims.” He said prosecutors were working to avoid a more lenient arrangement that would have allowed Epstein to “walk free.” “We believe that we proceeded appropriately,” he said, a contention challenged by critics who say Epstein’s penalty was egregiously light. The episode reignited this week when federal prosecutors in New York brought a … [Read more...] about Facing calls for resignation, Acosta defends Epstein deal

Chris Strohm Bloomberg Published 12:27 PM EDT Jul 9, 2019 Attorney General William Barr won’t recuse himself from involvement in the new charges filed against alleged sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein by federal prosecutors in New York, according to a Justice Department official. Barr made the decision on Tuesday after consulting with career ethics officials at the department, said the official, who asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter. Barr weighed whether he would have to remove himself from involvement in the case in part because Epstein had previously hired lawyers from the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Barr served as counsel to the law firm before becoming attorney general. But Barr has recused himself from any retrospective review of the Justice Department’s decision more than a decade ago letting Epstein avoid prosecution on federal sex-trafficking offenses in Florida and the decades of prison time that he could have faced if convicted. … [Read more...] about Barr won’t recuse himself from new case against Jeffrey Epstein