Alex Acosta: Where is the Ex-US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Now?

of Alex Acosta: Where is the Ex-US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Now? Richy Maria Jacob
January 22, 2025

Netflix’s ‘Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich’ is a documentary series that delves deep into the alleged crimes of financier Epstein, along with the plea deal he made back in 2008. Though several people have always challenged its credibility, it nonetheless came through to effect thanks to attorney Rene Alexander “Alex” Acosta, who served as the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time. However, heavy criticism has since befallen all those who have been behind the deal. 

Alex Acosta Always Tried to be The Best Possible Lawyer He Could Be 

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 his 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 at the Kirkland & Elis law firm in Washington. This is where he began specializing 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 terrorism suspect Jose Padilla. 

It was during Alex’s tenure as the U.S. attorney of Southern Florida that he became involved with the Jeffrey Epstein case. He sanctioned a federal non-prosecution agreement with Epstein. This deal granted certain co-conspirators and other unnamed co-conspirators immunity from facing criminal charges. However, it did require Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in exchange for 13 months behind bars and restitution to his identified victims. This plea deal would later be deemed illegal in court. 

Alex Acosta Has Defended His Plea Deal to Jeffrey Epstein

In addition to all this, the federal agreement, Epstein’s short sentence, and lenient treatment were met with harsh scrutiny in the following years. Yet, there have also been claims that it all was intended to protect the financier’s young victims, who were lured into committing horrid acts for him. Acosta has since also stated 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, though, was the victims not being informed of the deal. 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. None of the prosecutors wanted to put them through a trial where they would be forced to tell their story to the entire world and then be cross-examined for the same. 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. 

Alex Acosta Has Since Tried to Move On

In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Acosta for the Secretary of Labor post. After he was elected, some of his duties included looking into human trafficking, child labor, as well as forced labor at the international level under the International Labor Affairs Bureau. Then, in 2019, he proposed cutting funds to the department, only to resign in July 2019, following the growing criticism against him due to the Epstein case. This was after a federal court ruled that the non-prosecution agreement given to Epstein was invalid and that prosecutors like Alex (former dean at the Florida International University College of Law) had violated the victim’s rights with their decision to move forward with it.

Alex gave his reasonings 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. 

Alex Acosta Now Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life

From what we can tell, Alex Acosta, along with his wife, Jan Acosta, currently reside in Miami, Florida, where they are surrounded by loved ones. They share two daughters named Delia and Rosalia, who appear to be their pride and joy in every sense of the term. However, it’s imperative to note that Acosta has slipped under the radar post his resignation in the hopes of not only moving on from the past but also protecting his as well as his family’s privacy. His social media platforms, which were once extremely active, haven’t seen any activity since he posted his resignation letter. Though, before his resignation, he had posted a tweet explicitly stating that there is no denying that the crimes committed by Epstein were “horrific” and unforgivable.  

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