Multiple former federal prosecutors took to social media this week to call out Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary Alex Acosta over his “sweetheart” legal plea deal he gave to child molester Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, who was found guilty of raping multiple underaged girls, was allowed by Acosta to serve 15 months in a county jail while also being able to spend the day working outside of his cell.
A crime that should have put Epstein behind bars for his entire life, was shrunk down to less than 10 hours a day 6 days a week in a county holding cell.
This caused outrage from other former federal prosecutors. Here’s how they responded:
Acosta's comments assume there was an arbitrary time point where they had to cut off the investigation. That's not true, if they lacked sufficient evidence they could have continued to investigate. That "new evidence" he's glad SDNY prosecutors found was available back then too.
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 10, 2019
Acosta's suggestion that his obligation to protect victims was somehow different 12 years ago, because of changing societal attitudes, than it would be today is ridiculous. The more he defends his conduct the worse he sounds. https://t.co/FtylKFASmj
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 10, 2019
Acosta summary: FL was going to give a bad plea & I was the hero who swept in & gave him a slightly less bad plea because my prosecutors were too scared to go to trial & times were different then & FL did this crazy work release thing I couldn’t possibly have seen coming. 😡
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) July 10, 2019
I was a federal prosecutor 12 years ago. No one I worked with thought victim shaming was ok then @SecretaryAcosta.
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) July 10, 2019
Barbara McQuade: "I am normally very reluctant to second guess any prosecutor who had to deal w/ complicated facts … but I found several areas of [Acosta's] statement today to be woefully inadequate, including this one where he portrays himself as the hero of the story." @MSNBC
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 10, 2019
Why is Acosta making public comments discussing the specifics of victim's communications with law enforcement while charges against Epstein are pending?
He can potentially use Acosta's statements against prosecutors in that case. https://t.co/q8Vq5TnyP6
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 10, 2019
Comments like this will be used by Epstein's defense team to argue that he has been prejudiced. https://t.co/oqx8Xkr8aY
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 10, 2019
Somebody at the presser please ask @SecretaryAcosta why he immunized the co-conspirators around Epstein.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) July 10, 2019
— Calls his non-prosecution of Epstein an "ultimatum." Tough talk for a (nearly) free walk.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) July 10, 2019
Epstein paying for the attorneys who represented his victims strikes me as NOT a good point for @SecretaryAcosta to keep citing as if it helps his cause.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) July 10, 2019
None of this jibberish from @SecretaryAcosta remotely addresses his failure to notify victims.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) July 10, 2019
