{"id":71964,"date":"2017-05-01T17:12:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T21:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=71964"},"modified":"2017-05-01T17:41:32","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T21:41:32","slug":"trumps-new-sec-of-labor-let-lolita-express-billionaire-off-with-a-wrist-slap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=71964","title":{"rendered":"Why did Labor Secretary Alex Costa let off child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Trump\u2019s New Sec of Labor Let \u201cLolita Express\u201d Billionaire Off \u201cWith a Wrist Slap\u201d<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->By Claire Bernish<\/p>\n<p>Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, confirmed to the position Thursday by the U.S. Senate, is one in a string of disputed appointees to President Trump\u2019s Cabinet, but this contention doesn\u2019t concern his politics, rather, it\u2019s centered on his lax treatment of billionaire pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>And former Green Party candidate and U.S. Representative, Cynthia McKinney, is none too pleased with the confirmation, <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/cynthiamckinney\/status\/857763193455874052\">tweeting<\/a> shortly after the news,<\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cHe let Jeffrey Epstein off pedophilia charges with a wrist slap; now he\u2019s Trump\u2019s SecLabor\u2026.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">He let Jeffrey Epstein off pedophilia charges with a wristslap; now he&#39;s Trump&#39;s SecLabor&#8230;. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xJzNqldAsQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/xJzNqldAsQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Cynthia McKinney PhD (@cynthiamckinney) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cynthiamckinney\/status\/857763193455874052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 28, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>McKinney had plenty of company in calling out Acosta\u2019s appointment \u2014 weeks ago \u2014 but disputation over a shameful plea deal worked for Epstein\u2019s benefit faded significantly from corporate media headlines in recent days.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the lecherous and pedophiliac behavior for which Epstein earned the consternation of millions once his sexual escapades with minor girls became public knowledge doesn\u2019t so much bother American politicians, whose inappropriate lust was also exposed. Indeed, prior to taking the White House, billionaire Donald Trump dished out praise for Epstein back in 2002, <a href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/nymetro\/news\/people\/n_7912\/#print\">telling<\/a> <i>New York Magazine<\/i> for an article, in hindsight, peculiarly titled, <i>\u201cJeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery,\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><i>\u201cI\u2019ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He\u2019s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it \u2014 Jeffrey enjoys his social life.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Not three years later, light began piercing the shadow shielding Epstein\u2019s lascivious escapades from authorities\u2019 watchful eyes, as <i>Newsweek<\/i> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/epstein-sex-offender-pedophile-acosta-trump-bill-clinton-ken-starr-labor-572559\">noted<\/a>,<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cA Florida mother first brought billionaire Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s peculiar caprices to the attention of Palm Beach police in 2005 when she reported that her teenage daughter had been given $300 at an Epstein party to strip to her underwear and massage the mogul. Eventually, federal investigators and prosecutors built a case against Epstein (who started out as a teacher of seventh graders at a New York private school before striking it rich in finance) that involved 17 witnesses and five other underaged women.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Further, the <i>Post<\/i> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/labor-nominee-acosta-cut-deal-with-billionaire-in-sex-abuse-case-involving-40-underage-girls\/2017\/03\/21\/d33271a8-0d85-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.7e8ff5115812\">continued<\/a>, <i>\u201cAlthough Epstein\u2019s friends and visitors once included past and future presidents, rock stars, and some of the country\u2019s richest men, he is no longer a social magnet. Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence. Politicians who had accepted his donations, including former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, have scurried to give them back. (Harvard University kept a $6.5 million gift, saying it was \u2018funding important research\u2019 in mathematics.)\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>To say the notorious money-mover and entertainer of the world\u2019s elite liked \u2018women\u2019 on \u2018the younger side\u2019 utterly dismisses the extent of debauchery which took place at Epstein\u2019s southern Florida home and private access Caribbean island, as noted by staff of a U.S. Attorney ten years ago \u2014 before that attorney arranged a deal over which criminals of every stripe would drool.<\/p>\n<p>In his tenure as that attorney based in Miami, Acosta bucked recommendations to federally indict Epstein \u2014 despite that the now-64-year-old <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/342637849\/Acosta-Epstein\">sexually abused<\/a> no less than 40 girls, most of them aged between 13 and 17 years.<\/p>\n<p>Epstein \u2014 had it not been for suspicious wrangling by Trump\u2019s only Latino Cabinet pick \u2014 might have been sentenced to life behind bars.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors from Acosta\u2019s office, working with the FBI and documented for the court, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/labor-nominee-acosta-cut-deal-with-billionaire-in-sex-abuse-case-involving-40-underage-girls\/2017\/03\/21\/d33271a8-0d85-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.7e8ff5115812\">found<\/a> that, through assistance from several female assistants, Epstein <i>\u201cwould recruit underage females to travel to his home in Palm Beach to engage in lewd conduct in exchange for money \u2026 Some went there as much as 100 times or more. Some of the women\u2019s conduct was limited to performing a topless or nude massage while Mr. Epstein masturbated himself. For other women, the conduct escalated to full sexual intercourse.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Rather than the minimum ten-year sentence the billionaire pedophile faced, attorneys and police were shocked when Acosta\u2019s arrangement with Epstein\u2019s lawyers landed a part-time, eight hours per day county jail term \u2014 in essence, downplaying the criminal severity inherent in allegedly having sex with children just beginning to experience the pangs of puberty.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cAcosta also deviated from legal norms when he granted the deal without first notifying the young women who had spoken to investigators about their experiences with the billionaire,\u201d<\/i> <i>Newsweek<\/i> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/epstein-sex-offender-pedophile-acosta-trump-bill-clinton-ken-starr-labor-572559\">reported<\/a>. <i>\u201cDetails of the deal were not made public until a federal judge unsealed it as part of a civil lawsuit brought by four women in 2015.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Epstein served a mere 13 months total for his crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Acosta\u2019s apparent indiscretion on serious matters wasn\u2019t held to pooh-poohing the gravity of sexual abuse of minors \u2014 the <i>New York Times<\/i> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/27\/us\/politics\/r-alexander-acosta-labor-secretary-confirmed.html\">noted<\/a> Thursday a 2008 investigation by the Department of Justice faulted Acosta for violating federal law and departmental policy for consideration of political affiliation during hiring while heading the DOJ\u2019s civil rights division, which stacked the deck with allies of then-President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p>On the non-political but legally tangible criminal activities of which Epstein and his ilk seemed so fond, Acosta\u2019s \u2018sweetheart deal\u2019 sent a resounding message the caprices of the elite trumps holding the wealthy accountable for even the most pernicious of wrongs \u2014 hardly the paragon of integrity befitting an appropriate leader, much less a U.S. Secretary of Labor.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a tepid backtracking in 2011, via a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/articles\/2011\/03\/25\/jeffrey-epstein-how-the-billionaire-pedophile-got-off-easy\">letter<\/a> posted online to the <i>Daily Beast<\/i>, Acosta\u2019s tone intimated the desire to disregard past errors possibly made in the handling of Epstein\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cSome may feel that the prosecution should have been tougher,\u201d<\/i> he wrote. <i>\u201cEvidence that has come to light since 2007 may encourage that view. Many victims have since spoken out, filing detailed statements in civil cases seeking damages. Physical evidence has since been discovered. Had these additional statements and evidence been known, the outcome may have been different. But they were not known to us at the time.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>With Epstein walking free about his home in the U.S.-controlled Virgin Islands, not having had to experience years or life inside a steel cage, revelations of his behavior occasionally seep into the harsh eye of public purview.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2014 court filing, an unidentified woman accused the money manager of holding her hostage as a \u201csex slave\u201d \u2014 Epstein had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2015\/jan\/13\/jeffrey-epstein-donations-us-virgin-islands-review\">forced<\/a> the young girl to have sex with Prince Andrew \u2014 a claim vociferously denied by Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n<p>Epstein\u2019s lewd wrongdoings cannot be misapplied to the latest Trump appointee, but Acosta must bear the burden in tacitly dismissing the pain, anguish, and trauma experienced by the billionaire\u2019s victims \u2014 since he, alone, prevented a punishment congruent with the criminality of acted-upon pedophilic desires.<\/p>\n<p>For a strong advocate and champion of the people like Cynthia McKinney, however, the two should be inextricably linked, never forgotten, and the one responsible for letting the other slide should never have been rewarded with a prestigious and powerful position \u2014 one which traumatized victims will feel a constant reminder their pain didn\u2019t so much present a stumbling block for its achievement.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/trumps-new-sec-labor-let-lolita-express-billionaire-off-wrist-slap\/\">http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/trumps-new-sec-labor-let-lolita-express-billionaire-off-wrist-slap\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump\u2019s New Sec of Labor Let \u201cLolita Express\u201d Billionaire Off \u201cWith a Wrist Slap\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71964\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}