Richy Maria JacobThe docuseries, ‘Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich’ highlights the plea deal Epstein was able to make initially, in 2008. Though several people challenged its credibility, it nonetheless came through to effect. However, heavy criticism has befallen all those who have been behind the deal.
Who is Alex Acosta?
Rene Alexander Acosta is a native of Florida, who was born to Cuban refugee parents. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1990 and Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1994. In the initial days of his career, he served as a law clerk to Samuel Alito. He then worked in the law firm, Kirkland & Elis in Washington. This is where he specialized in labor and employment issues. He has also served in presidentially appointed U.S. Senate-confirmed positions, under the Bush administration. In 2005, he was appointed as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Since then, he has been involved in several high profile cases, such as the prosecution of Jack Abramoff and Jose Padilla.
It was during his tenure as the U.S. attorney of Southern Florida that he became involved with the Jeffrey Epstein case. Acosta sanctioned a federal non-prosecution agreement with Epstein. This deal granted certain co-conspirators and other unnamed co-conspirators immunity from facing criminal charges. It, however, required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges alleged against him, and also pay restitution to the identified victims. This plea deal would later in court be deemed illegal.
In addition to all this, the federal agreement, Epstein’s short sentence, and lenient treatment were met with harsh scrutiny in the following years. However, there have also been claims that this plea deal was intended to protect several of Epstein’s victims, who were lured into committing crimes under Epstein. Acosta has come out stating that he was not the only one involved in the deal. It is even stated that Acosta met with Epstein’s legal team at the Marriott Hotel to discuss the terms of the deal. There are even reports of emails exchanged between Acosta, and prosecutor Marie Villafaña, agreeing to Epstein’s legal team’s demands.
The issue that stood out the most was the victims not being informed of the deal, as they are entitled to know. Jeffrey Solman, one of the prosecutors in the case, came to defend the plea deal by stating that it was done to protect the interest of the victims without having to re-traumatize them. The legal validity of the plea deal was upheld for a long time. It was after its annulment that Epstein was arrested to be tried in court.
In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Acosta to the Secretary of Labor post. After he was elected to this post, some of his duties were overseeing human trafficking, child labor, and forced labor at the international level under the International Labor Affairs Bureau. In 2019, he had proposed cutting funds to the department. In any case, Acosta resigned from his post in July 2019, following the growing criticism against him due to Epstein’s case. However, he gave his reasons following his resignation. He said, “It would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that’s 12 years old rather than the amazing economy we have right now.”
Along with this, he added that 2008 was a time when things were different from now. In light of the same, he said, “Today’s world treats victims very, very differently.” Furthermore, he transferred some of the blame on the state authorities for not making sure that Epstein served his full sentence.
Where is Alex Acosta Now?
Alex Acosta, along with his wife, Jan Acosta, currently lives in their residence in Miami. They have two daughters named Delia and Rosalia.
Acosta has slipped under the radar post his resignation. His Twitter handle, which was always bustling with tweets, hasn’t seen anything after the resignation letter he posted. Well before his resignation, he had posted a tweet that stated that the crimes committed by Epstein were “horrific.” In any case, he hasn’t come forward after his resignation to give further statements.
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