Normally, the confirmation process to anoint a new Secretary of Labor isn’t especially interesting. We certainly don’t learn anything new or scandalous most of the time. But in 2017, the confirmation process of Alexander Acosta was a very notable exception. At the time, the Trump administration was vetting Acosta, and they asked him whether anything in his past might pose a problem during his confirmation hearings.
That’s when Acosta told Trump officials about his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein criminal case, back when he was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in 2007. Acosta recounted that he had agreed to give Jeffrey Epstein the mother of all sweetheart deals. He granted immunity not only to Epstein, but also to any potential co-conspirators, known or unknown. Acosta also hid the existence of this non-prosecution agreement from Epstein’s victims, in violation of the law. As a result of the deal, the federal investigation into Epstein was shut down. Epstein ultimately pleaded guilty to a state charge of procuring a girl for prostitution under the age of 18. He was out of prison in a few months.
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