House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has demanded the resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta over his involvement in a case against Jeffrey Epstein that resulted in an extremely lenient sentence. When he was working as a U.S. attorney in Florida in 2007, Acosta negotiated a plea deal that led to two felony solicitation charges and 13 months in a private wing of a county jail for Epstein—and the financier was allowed to work from his office six days a week. His alleged victims were not told about the deal. Pelosi tweeted late Monday a demand that Acosta leaves his role over the “unconscionable agreement” he cut for Epstein. “Secretary Acosta must step down. As U.S. Attorney, he engaged in an unconscionable agreement w/ Jeffrey Epstein kept secret from courageous, young victims preventing them from seeking justice,” she wrote. “This was known by [Trump] when he appointed him to the cabinet.” Epstein was indicted Monday on sex-trafficking charges.
