Sherrod Brown Calls on Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to Resign Over Epstein Plea Deal

 

Sen. Sherrod Brown joined his fellow Democrats in calling on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over his involvement in a 2007 plea deal for multimillionaire and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein was arrested Saturday night in New Jersey and charged Monday with operating a sex trafficking ring in which he personally abused dozens of underage girls. Epstein served just 13 months in jail back in 2007 for sexually abusing underage girls.

Acosta, now President Donald Trump’s labor secretary, served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time and is being accused by Democrats of overseeing a lenient plea deal for Epstein.

“You’ve got a guy that enabled one of the alleged worst sex traffickers that we know of in the country, who enabled that, who’s now in charge, in part, of enforcing laws against sex trafficking. He should resign,” Brown told reporters Tuesday.

“He should resign for a lot of reasons,” Brown added. “First, the dereliction of duty on just an outrageous behavior of the justice system in Florida where he was in charge as the U.S. attorney. He should resign because part of the job as labor secretary is to enforce some of the provisions on sex trafficking.”

Brown’s senate colleague, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, has remained silent on the latest allegations against Epstein.

Acosta defended himself in a series of tweets Tuesday morning.

“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific, and I am pleased that NY prosecutors are moving forward with a case based on new evidence,” he said. “With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator. Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice.”

For now, President Trump is standing by Acosta, according to NPR.

“What I do know is that he’s been a really, really great secretary of labor. The rest of it, we will have to look at,” Trump said Tuesday, and distanced himself from having any connection to Epstein.

“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach,” Trump said. “I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”

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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].

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