4 The Virgin Islands Daily News

4 The Virgin Islands Daily News VIRGIN ISLANDS Saturday, February 23, 2019 White House ‘looking into’ Acosta’s role in illegal sex offender plea deal By JOHN T. BENNETT CQ-Roll Call WASHINGTON — _ White House press secretary Sarah Huck- abee Sanders on Friday declined to say whether President Donald Trump still has confidence in La- bor Secretary Alexander Acosta, a day after a federal judge ruled the Justice Department broke the law while Acosta was a U.S. attorney. A judge said Acosta — then the U.S. attorney in Miami — signed off on a plea deal with Jeffrey Ep- stein, the Palm Beach billionaire and serial sex abuser, without in- forming victims about what they were doing. Epstein also owns the island of Little St. James in the Virgin Islands, “My understanding is that it’s a very complicated case, some- thing we're certainly looking into,” Sanders said. The Florida- based U.S. Dis- trict Judge Ken- neth A. Marra ruled Acosta and other — officials did not confer with — Epstein’s : victims about Jeffrey Epstein the 2008 plea agreement, But, notably, she appeared to defend the labor boss. “But that they made the best possible deal that they could have gotten at that time,” she said. “But, again, that’s something we're look- ing into.” A federal judge said U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — then the U.S. attorney in Miami — signed off on a plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein, the Palm Beach billionaire and serial sex abuser, without informing the dozens of victims about what they were doing. Epstein also owns the island of little St. James in the Virgin Islands. Asked if Trump still has confi- dence in the latest member of his Cabinet — which he frequently praises as doing a collective solid job — Sanders declined to say the president does. “Again, that’s something we're looking into,” the spokeswoman said, “I'm not aware of any changes.” The judge said in his decision Thursday that he had reviewed evidence showing Epstein sexu- ally abused more than 30 underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion and elsewhere. The Crime Victims’ Rights Act promises victims that the Justice Department would make its “best efforts” to protect a victim, the fil- ing said. It allows victims the “rea- sonable right” to confer with the U.S. attorneys handling the case. The deal reached between Acos- ta and Epstein’s attorneys allowed him to not be prosecuted in fed- eral court, and instead sentenced in state court. The immunity from prosecution also extended to some of Epstein’s co-conspirators. Epstein pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges and served 13 months in county jail, according to the Miami Herald. The victims were not told of the agreement or sentencing until it was too late to intervene, The Department of Justice an- nounced earlier this month it has opened an investigation into the handling of Epstein’s case. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_027096