The White House says it is “looking into” Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s role in arranging a plea deal for billionaire and accused serial child sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein, a deal which has been declared illegal.
“My understanding is that it’s a very complicated case, something we’re certainly looking into,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday, according to CQ Roll Call.
{mosads}A federal judge ruled on Thursday that prosecutors, including Acosta, violated the law by not speaking to victims before offering Epstein a plea deal.
After multiple girls accused him of sexual assault more than a decade ago, Epstein pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and was sentenced to serve just 13 months in prison, according to a bombshell report by The Miami Herald. Epstein and his co-conspirators were also given further immunity.
Two victims first sued in 2008, saying that prosecutors broke the law with the arrangement.
The allegations against Epstein came back into the public eye after the Herald’s November report, which also detailed Acosta’s role in the plea agreement.
Acosta agreed to keep the deal from victims, although that violates federal law, and gave Epstein’s attorneys “unusual freedoms,” according to the Herald.
Epstein is a powerful hedge fund manager who has reportedly been friends with President Trump and former President Clinton.