Friday President Donald Trump announced that his embattled Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta will resign.
URGENT: Pres Trump just told reporters that @SecretaryAcosta is resigning. @POTUS says Acosta called him this morning, and it's Acosta's decision.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 12, 2019
The resignation comes just two days after Acosta addressed the media over his involvement in the controversial plea deal reached in 2008 with Jeffrey Epstein.
The deal allowed Epstein to avoid federal sex trafficking charges, plead guilty to prostitution charges and serve only thirteen months in prison.
As the News Blender reported on Wednesday, the now former Secretary of Labor faced pressure from Democrats to resign, following the arrest of Epstein over the weekend, where the now political connected Epstein faces new charges from the state of New York, for sex trafficking minors.
The now former Trump Cabinet member appeared along side the President who told reporters prior to departing DC for Milwaukee and Cleveland, that Acosta has “done a fantastic job. He’s a friend to everybody in the administration.”
"He's done a fantastic job. He's a friend of everybody in the administration," Trump began their appearance. He said Acosta "did a fantastic job yesterday" in the press conference, which happened two days ago.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 12, 2019
The President made it clear that the decision to resign was Acosta’s saying, “I said, you don’t have to do this. He doesn’t have to do this.”
Trump said there was "no need" for the resignation, emphasizing that Acosta did a fantastic job yesterday, meaning Wednesday. "I said, you don't have to do this. He doesn't have to do this."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 12, 2019
The Wall Street Journal reported that aside from the plea deal with Epstein, that in February made headlines when as the USA Today reported a Federal Judge ruled Acosta broke the law “when he was a U.S. attorney in Miami, broke the law in a sex trafficking case against a billionaire New York hedge fund manager by not informing his underage sex victims of a plea agreement,” that a second question was being asked, “whether he is doing enough to implement President Trump’s deregulatory agenda.”
According to the WSJ “inside the White House, frustrations with Mr. Acosta have focused largely on the pace of deregulation at the Labor Department, a concern shared by some in the business community.”
For What It’s Worth.
Acosta says he's stepping down because he doesn't think it right or fair that all the Labor Dept has done now overshadowed by the Epstein matter. Acosta says he called @POTUS this morning and told him he thought the right thing for him to do was to step aside. pic.twitter.com/yzmZLkQG95
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 12, 2019
Top Trump Departures
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 12, 2019
Flynn
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Anton
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McMahon
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Sanders
Acosta
Shot. pic.twitter.com/BsZQhohlfn
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 12, 2019
Chaser: #ettd pic.twitter.com/vgxlsJkHvj
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 12, 2019
