WASHINGTON (AP) – Labor Secretary Alex Acosta plans to make a statement Wednesday regarding his handling of a sex trafficking case involving now-jailed billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Labor Department said Acosta will “make a statement and answer questions” from reporters at 2:30 p.m. Acosta, a former federal prosecutor in south Florida, is under fire for his role in a secret 2008 plea deal that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution after allegations he molested teenage girls. Epstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to new child sex-trafficking charges and could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted. President Donald Trump has praised Acosta’s work in his Cabinet and said he feels “very badly” for him, but said he’ll be looking “very closely” at the matter.