House Democrats slammed former Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta over his testimony on Friday, when he appeared on Capitol Hill to answer questions behind closed doors on the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Acosta, who served as President Donald Trump’s labor secretary during his first term before resigning in 2019, proved to be evasive and not a credible witness, according to Democrats who interviewed him as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation.
As U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Acosta approved the sex offender’s plea deal and 2008 non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to avoid federal charges.
Instead, Epstein was sentenced to 18 months, of which he served 13, and was part of a lenient work-release program during which time he was accused of abusing more women.
“Alex Acosta ran a deeply flawed investigation of the Epstein case,” said committee ranking member Robert Garcia on Friday, speaking to reporters as Democrats stepped out from where Acosta was being questioned.
“He also would not admit that Mr. Epstein received a sweetheart deal,” Garcia said.
Garcia said Acosta denied any responsibility for the victims and admitted he did not know what had happened to Epstein’s victims to date.
Others said Acosta indicated the victims at the time would not be believed. However, Acosta also told lawmakers he had never actually reviewed victims’ statements.
“I heard things that disturbed me, such as, ‘Well, back in 2006, it was a different time,’ and it seemed as if we were going back to a little bit of victim shaming,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett said.
Democratic Rep. Dave Min, a former law professor, said he found Acosta to be “completely non-credible as a witness.” He described the former U.S. attorney as evasive, and said Acosta said he had not actually reviewed the evidence in the case.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari appeared separately on CNN, where she described it as “very difficult to get straightforward answers out of him” over what happened at the time, what he knew, and about the relationship between Epstein and Trump.
She said he was often saying things like, “I don’t remember,” and that he was not briefed on the details of the case.
“He is not showing any remorse. He does not seem to think that he did, in fact, strike a sweetheart deal,” she said.
Acosta was on the hill just days after FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before House and Senate committees, where he threw the former U.S. Attorney under the bus as the Trump administration struggles to contain the fallout from its bungled release of the Epstein files.
The FBI director blamed Acosta’s 2008 deal for a lack of information and argued it was what prevented the administration from releasing more details. However, multiple courts have indicated the Justice Department had more documents it could release besides seeking the release of grand jury testimony.
Democrats fired back, accusing Patel and other members of the Trump administration of being complicit in a cover-up.
Rep. Maxwell Frost said Acosta was also not forthcoming about his conversations to become Trump’s labor secretary nearly a decade after approving the Epstein deal and whether the case came up during his vetting to be in Trump’s first Cabinet.
Democrats indicated they had more questions an hour into interviewing Acosta than when his interview had started.
While not hopeful they would learn any major revelations from the former U.S. Attorney, they did indicate they hoped his testimony would provide more leads as to where they could turn next in the investigation.
While Democrats blasted the former labor secretary, Republican House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer released a statement that Acosta’s cooperation would help advance the investigation.
He accused Democrats of “attempting to manufacture yet another false narrative about President Trump”. He noted Acosta confirmed to the committee he had never seen Trump’s name on any documents related to Epstein.
The GOP lawmaker also claimed Acosta said his office had received assurances that Epstein would not receive work release, but indicated Palm Beach County somehow allowed it to happen.
