A judge has ruled that federal prosecutors, including future Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, violated the law when they did not tell victims the government had struck a deal not to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein, a politically connected billionaire accused of molesting dozens of young girls.
The ruling was a stinging rebuke for prosecutors and how they behaved in a grim, high-profile case that has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months.
A Miami Herald investigation last year highlighted the allegations and Acosta’s role in cutting a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein, while a Justice Department office said it is exploring whether the federal prosecutors who reached the deal committed “professional misconduct.”
District Judge Kenneth A. Marra was blunt, ruling that prosecutors had acted improperly in reaching the agreement with Epstein — which stopped federal action in exchange for him pleading guilty to a state charge — without telling the victims.
Marra, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in a 33-page ruling that the actions violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), which entitles victims to know about significant events in their cases.
Marra wrote that he was “not ruling that the decision not to prosecute was improper,” noting he was “simply ruling that, under the facts of this case, there was a violation of the victims rights under the CVRA.”
Despite the rebuke, President Trump expressed confidence today in Acosta.
“I really don’t know too much about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I know he’s done a great job as labor secretary, and that seems like a long time ago, but I know he’s been a fantastic labor secretary. That’s all I can really tell you about it. That’s all I know about it.”
Vetting usual allows a boss to know “a lot about” a potential high-power employee.
Asked about the ruling, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters “We’re looking into the matter, I’m not aware of any changes on that front.”
Sanders added: “My understanding is that’s a very complicated case … but that they made the best possible decision and deal they could have gotten at that time.”
Acosta is not expected to be fined or otherwise penalized, but he may receive a formal admonition from the bench or from a professional bar association.
Epstein dispatched associates to find teenage girls, many of them underage, to visit his home in Palm Beach for “massages,” which would often involve sex acts, according to evidence in the case.
Epstein faced a lenient 18-month sentence, but he was released five months early and was given lax conditions in which he was on work-release during the day.
In addition, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog for attorney misconduct, the Office of Professional Responsibility, earlier this month announced it had opened an investigation into the government’s conduct in the case.
Despite key details of the case being known when Acosta was confirmed as labor secretary, an extensive report by the Miami Herald with new interviews with Epstein’s victims brought fresh attention to the case and prompted Democratic lawmakers to demand an investigation.