>> ANDREA, HAVE YOURSELF AN EXCELLENT AFTERNOON.
EXCELLENT AFTERNOON. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. HELLO, IT’S TUESDAY, JULY 9th.
>> PRESIDENT TRUMP IS DEFENDING
HIS LABOR SECRETARY TODAY,
ALEXANDER ACOSTA.
ALEXANDER ACOSTA. ACOSTA IS UNDER INTENSE SCRUTINY
FOR A DEAL HE GAVE SEX OFFENDER
AND MULTI-MILLIONAIRE JEFFREY
EPSTEIN BACK IN 2008.
HERE IS WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID
WHILE IN THE OVAL OFFICE JUST
MOMENTS AGO.
MOMENTS AGO. >> I MET SECRETARY ACOSTA, THIS
IS THE FIRST TIME I KNOW WHEN I
MADE THE DEAL TO BRING HIM ON
INTO THE ADMINISTRATION.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR TWO AND
A HALF YEARS HE’S BEEN JUST AN
EXCELLENT SECRETARY OF LABOR.
HE’S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB.
NOW, PART OF IT IS OUR ECONOMY
IS SO GOOD, OUR UNEMPLOYMENT
NUMBERS ARE AT RECORD LOWS, YOU
KNOW, SO MANY GOOD THINGS ARE
HAPPENING, BUT THE FACT IS HE’S
BEEN A VERY GOOD SECRETARY OF
LABOR.
LABOR. WHAT HAPPENED 12 OR 15 YEARS AGO
WITH RESPECT TO WHEN HE WAS A
U.S. ATTORNEY, I THINK IN
MIAMI -- IS IT MIAMI?
>> YES.
>> YES. >> YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO BACK AND
LOOK AT EVERYBODY ELSE’S
DECISIONS, WHETHER IT’S A U.S.
ATTORNEY OR AN ASSISTANT U.S.
ATTORNEY OR A JUDGE, YOU GO BACK
12, 15 YEARS AGO OR 20 YEARS AGO
AND LOOK AT THEIR PAST
DECISIONS, I WOULD THINK YOU
WOULD PROBABLY FIND THAT THEY
WISH THEY MAYBE DID IT A
DIFFERENT WAY.
DIFFERENT WAY. I DO HEAR THAT THERE WERE A LOT
OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THAT
DECISION, NOT JUST HIM.
I CAN ONLY SAY THIS FROM WHAT I
KNOW AND WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT
HE’S BEEN A GREAT -- REALLY
GREAT SECRETARY OF LABOR.
THE REST OF IT WE WILL HAVE TO
LOOK AT.
LOOK AT. WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT IT VERY
CAREFULLY.
CAREFULLY. BUT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A LONG
TIME AGO AND, AGAIN, IT WAS A
DECISION MADE, I THINK, NO THE
BY HIM BUT BY A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT IT
VERY CAREFULLY.
VERY CAREFULLY. WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT VERY
CAREFULLY.
CAREFULLY. >> NOW HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY
PELOSI, SENATE MINORITY LEADER
CHUCK SCHUMER ALONG WITH AN
INCREASING NUMBER OF 2020
CANDIDATES ARE CALLING FOR
ACOSTA TO RESIGN, OF COURSE,
THEY ARE ALL DEMOCRATS.
THE LABOR DEPARTMENT SOURCES SAY
ACOSTA HAS ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS
TO STEP DOWN, INSTEAD HE TWEETED
EARLIER THIS: THE CRIMES
COMMITTED BY EPSTEIN ARE
HORRIFIC AND I AM PLEASED THAT
NEW YORK PROSECUTORS ARE MOVING
FORWARD WITH THE CASE BASED ON
NEW EVIDENCE.
NEW EVIDENCE. WITH THE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE MORE
THAN A DECADE AGO, FEDERAL
PROSECUTORS INSISTED THAT
EPSTEIN GO TO JAIL, REGISTER AS
A SEX OFFENDER AND PUT THE WORLD
ON NOTICE THAT HE WAS A SEXUAL
PREDATOR.
PREDATOR. NOW THAT NEW EVIDENCE AND
ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY IS
AVAILABLE, THE NEW YORK
PROSECUTION OFFERS AN IMPORTANT
OPPORTUNITY TO MORE FULLY BRING
HIM TO JUSTICE.
>> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT A
LITTLE BIT, BUT BEFORE WE DO
THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS A
TENDENCY TO OBFUSCATE.
THE LABOR SECRETARY THE
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE MAY BE LOW,
IT’S GOT TO GO TO DO WITH THE
LABOR SECRETARY, THE LABOR
SECRETARY AND THAT DEPARTMENT
MEASURES UNEMPLOYMENT.
MEASURES UNEMPLOYMENT. SO THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS LOW
AS A DEFENSE FOR ALEX ACOSTA IS
AN IRRELEVANT POINT, JUST SO
PEOPLE DON’T GET CAUGHT UP ON
THAT.
THAT. >> ALSO FROM A HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE WE KNOW THAT THE
PRESIDENT HAS LOST A NUMBER OF
PEOPLE OR FIRED A NUMBER OF
PEOPLE IN HIS ADMINISTRATION AND
UNTIL HOURS, MINUTES BEFORE EVEN
THOSE PEOPLE DON’T KNOW.
SO FOR THE PRESIDENT TO GIVE HIM
A SEAL OF APPROVAL AT 12:30
MEANS NOTHING.
MEANS NOTHING. >> LET’S TAKE A LOOK, THOUGH, AT
THE HISTORY BETWEEN EPSTEIN WHO
WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LOT
AND ACOSTA, THE LABOR SECRETARY.
BACK IN THE MID 2000s EPSTEIN
FACED ACCUSATIONS THAT HE
SEXUALLY ABUSED MORE THAN 40
GIRLS, THE VICTIMS RANGED IN
AGES FROM 13 TO 17 YEARS OLD AND
AS PALM BEACH AUTHORITIES
FEARED, LOCAL PROSECUTORS WOULD
BE ROLLED OVER BY EPSTEIN’S HIGH
POWERED LAWYERS, THEY ASKED THE
FEDERAL PROSECUTOR IN MIAMI TO
STEP IN, THAT’S ACCORDING TO
REPORTING IN THE "NEW YORK
TIMES."
TIMES." THAT U.S. ATTORNEY WAS, IN FACT,
ALEXANDER ACOSTA.
ALEXANDER ACOSTA. HE WAS A CAREER GOVERNMENT
LAWYER WHO CLERKED FOR JUSTICE
SAMUEL ALITO, HE WAS -- BEFORE
HIS EMPLOYMENT TO THE SUPREME
COURT, HE SERVED AS THE
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR
THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION AND HE
WAS THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA.
DESPITE HIS OFFICE DEVELOPING A
CASE AGAINST EPSTEIN ACOSTA
TRAVELED FROM MIAMI TO WEST PALM
BEACH MEETING PRIVATELY WITH
EPSTEIN’S LAWYERS.
EPSTEIN’S LAWYERS. FOR SOME REASON OUT OF THAT
MEETING CAME AN NPA, A
NONPROSECUTION AGREEMENT THAT
BASICALLY ALLOWED A GUILTY PLEA
ON LESSER STATE CHARGES.
EPSTEIN WAS TO SERVE 13 MONTHS
IN JAIL AND REQUIRED HIM TO
REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER AT
ACOSTA’S CONFIRMATION HEARING TO
BE SECRETARY OF LABOR SENATOR
TIM KAINE OF VIRGINIA PRESSED
HIM ON THIS NONPROSECUTION
AGREEMENT.
AGREEMENT. >> THERE IS AN ALLEGATION THAT I
JUST READ THAT YOU DID NOT
PURSUE A FEDERAL INDICTMENT EVEN
THOUGH YOUR STAFF HAD ADVOCATED
THAT YOU DO SO, IS THAT
ACCURATE?
ACCURATE? >> THAT IS NOT ACCURATE.
>> FEDERAL PROSECUTORS DETAILED
THEIR FINDINGS IN AN 82-PAGE
PROSECUTION MEMO AND A 53-PAGE
INDICTMENT, BUT EPSTEIN WAS
NEVER INDICTED.
NEVER INDICTED. THEN THERE IS A QUOTE, QUOTE,
THIS AGREEMENT, THE AGREEMENT
YOU DESCRIBE, WILL NOT BE MADE
PART OF ANY PUBLIC RECORD.
>> IT IS PRETTY TYPICAL IN A
PROSECUTION FOR AN INDICTMENT, A
DRAFT INDICTMENT, TO BE WRITTEN.
THAT DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN
THAT THAT DRAFT INDICTMENT IS
FILED BECAUSE THAT DRAFT
INDICTMENT DOES NOT CONSIDER
OFTEN THE STRENGTH OF THE
UNDERLYING CASE.
UNDERLYING CASE. >> THE DRAFT INDICTMENT, 53-PAGE
DRAFT INDICTMENT MAY NOT HAVE
CONSIDERED THE STRENGTH OF THE
UNDERLYING CASE.
UNDERLYING CASE. HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED, THE U.S.
ATTORNEY IN NEW YORK CONSIDERS
THE UNDERLYING CASE STRONG
ENOUGH AND ACOSTA WASN’T THE
ONLY ONE WHO USED THE LAW TO
BENEFIT EPSTEIN.
BENEFIT EPSTEIN. IN 2011 THE MANHATTAN DISTRICT
ATTORNEY’S OFFICE ASKED A JUDGE
TO DOWNGRADE EPSTEIN’S SEX
OFFENDER STATUS FROM THE MOST
RESTRICTIVE TO THE LEAST.
THE JUDGE INCREDULOUS AT THE
REQUEST DENIED IT, BUT HERE IS
THE INTERESTING PART, THIS IS
HOW SERIOUSLY EPSTEIN TOOK HIS
PUNISHMENT.
PUNISHMENT. JUST A MONTH AFTER THE DA WENT
TO BAT FOR HIM, EPSTEIN JOKED
ABOUT HIS SEX OFFENDER
DESIGNATION, TELLING THE NEW
YORK POST, I’M NOT A SEXUAL
PREDATOR, I’M AN OFFENDER.
IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
MURDERER AND A PERSON WHO STEALS
A BAGEL.
A BAGEL. >> A PERSON WHO STEALS A BAGEL.
>> THIS IS FROM A MAN ACCUSED OF
ABUSING DOZENS OF GIRLS.
STEALS A BAGEL.
>> GIRLS, AS YOUNG AS 14 YEARS
OLD.
OLD. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> SO THAT’S LIKE STEALING A
BAGEL.
BAGEL. HERE IS WHY THAT’S IMPORTANT,
BECAUSE ACOSTA IS THE SECRETARY
OF LABOR AND THAT’S WHY THIS IS
RELEVANT, BECAUSE THE LABOR
DEPARTMENT IS A KEY PARTNER IN
PREVENTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING,
INCLUDING SEX TRAFFICKING, WHICH
IS A COMPONENT OF EPSTEIN’S
CHARGES.
CHARGES. HERE IS HOW ACOSTA DEFENDED THE
CASE DURING HIS CONFIRMATION
HEARING.
HEARING. >> AT THE END OF THIS CASE I
RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL FROM
THE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF
THE FBI WHO HAD BEEN PART OF
THIS ENTIRE PROCESS AND HAD BEEN
AT THE MEETINGS AND HAD BEEN
INVOLVED AND HE CALLED TO JUST
SAY CONGRATULATIONS.
SAY CONGRATULATIONS. THIS WAS REALLY HARD FOUGHT AND
WELL WON.
WELL WON. AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THIS
REALLY WAS A POINT OF PRIDE.
>> SINCE YOU’VE ADDED ON THEN I
WANT TO ADD ON.
YOU ARE AWARE THAT MR. EPSTEIN
SERVED THAT 13 MONTHS, HE WAS
ALLOWED OUT DURING THE DAY AND
HE HAD TO SLEEP AT A COUNTY
JAIL, BUT HE WAS BASICALLY
ALLOWED TO MOVE AND GO AROUND
THE COMMUNITY AND DO WHATEVER HE
WANTS AND THEN THAT BECAME A
SUBJECT OF SIGNIFICANT
CRITICISM.
CRITICISM. >> AND I AM ON RECORD CONDEMNING
THAT AND I THINK THAT WAS AWFUL.
>> AND YOU WOULD SAY THAT WAS A
STATE -- YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A
PROBLEM WITH THE WAY THE STATE
ADMINISTERED THE STATE SENTENCE?
>> YES, AND I THINK IT WAS
WRONG.
WRONG. >> NOW, DESPITE THE DEAL, EVERY
SENATE REPUBLICAN OTHER THAN
PENNSYLVANIA’S PATH TOOMEY WHO
DIDN’T VOTE ELECTED TO CONFIRM
ACOSTA.
ACOSTA. THEY WERE JOINED BY EIGHT
DEMOCRATS INCLUDING KAINE’S
VIRGINIA COLLEAGUE MARK WARNER
ALONG WITH ANGUS KING.
JOINING US NOW JILL WINE-BANKS.
>> JILL, ACOSTA SAID THIS WAS
THE BEST DEAL POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE TALKED TO A NUMBER OF
LAWYERS SINCE THIS NEWS BROKE
THAT SAY THAT THIS DOESN’T SEEM
LIKE THE BEST DEAL POSSIBLE, BUT
LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WOULD
HAPPEN, WHY A U.S. ATTORNEY
WOULD MAKE A DEAL WITH A
DEFENDANT, NOT CONSULT THE
VICTIMS ABOUT THE DEAL.
>> IT’S A TERRIBLE DEAL AND
EVERYTHING ABOUT IT STINKS.
THE FACT THAT HE KEPT THIS
SECRET FROM THE VICTIMS, DID NOT
GIVE THEM THE NOTICE THAT’S
REQUIRED BY THE LAW, THAT HE MET
WITH THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IN
PALM BEACH IN A HOTEL INSTEAD OF
HAVING AN ON THE RECORD MEETING
IN HIS OFFICE, ONLY INDICATES
HOW TERRIBLE THIS DEAL WAS.
THERE WERE MULTIPLE VICTIMS,
THERE WAS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE,
THERE IS NEVER A DECISION MADE
WHERE YOU HAVE A PROSECUTION
MEMO THAT DOESN’T CONSIDER THE
UNDERLYING EVIDENCE.
UNDERLYING EVIDENCE. THAT IS JUST WRONG.
ANY PROSECUTOR LEARNS RIGHT AWAY
THAT YOU TALK ABOUT THE
STRENGTHS AND THE WEAKNESSES AND
YOU POINT OUT EXACTLY HOW STRONG
YOUR CASE IS.
AND THIS WAS A CASE THAT WAS
CLEARLY STRONG ENOUGH TO BE
PROSECUTED.
PROSECUTED. AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROSECUTED.
THE SENTENCE WOULD HAVE BEEN
OVER 40 YEARS IN JAIL IN THE
FEDERAL SYSTEM.
FEDERAL SYSTEM. HE SERVED LESS THAN A YEAR AND
HE DID IT, AS YOU HAVE NOTED, BY
GOING TO HIS OFFICE AND WORKING
EVERY DAY.
EVERY DAY. >> SIX DAYS A WEEK.
>> THAT IS NOT PUNISHMENT.
>> HELP US UNDERSTAND IN THE
NONPROSECUTION AGREEMENT,
NONPROSECUTION AGREEMENT, CO-CONSPIRATORS WHO ARE NEVER
NAMED ARE GRANTED IMMUNITY.
WHEN THE PROSECUTION WOULD AGREE
TO IMMUNITY, TO THE BEST OF OUR
UNDERSTANDING THEY WOULD BE
GETTING SOMETHING ON THE OTHER
SIDE.
SIDE. >> YOU DON’T GIVE AWAY IMMUNITY
FOR NOTHING.
FOR NOTHING. >> WHAT WAS GIVEN AWAY?
JEFFREY EPSTEIN DOESN’T SEEM TO
HAVE OFFERED ANYTHING.
>> IT’S VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND
AND LET’S LOOK AT THE CURRENT
INDICTMENT, WHICH ALSO SAYS THAT
EPSTEIN ACTED WITH OTHERS KNOWN
AND UNKNOWN.
AND UNKNOWN. THAT MEANS -- AND LET’S JUST
LOOK AT THE WATERGATE INDICTMENT
WHICH ALSO INDICTED ALL OF THE
PRESIDENT’S TOP MEN WITH OTHERS
KNOWN AND UNKNOWN.
AND THEN LATER IN A BILL OF
PARTICULARS AS PART OF DISCOVERY
WE RELEASED THE NAMES OF OTHERS
THAT WERE KNOWN, INCLUDING
PRESIDENT NIXON.
PRESIDENT NIXON. SO I DON’T KNOW WHO THOSE OTHERS
KNOWN AND UNKNOWN ARE, BUT WE DO
KNOW THAT AT LEAST ONE GIRL WAS
TAKEN FROM MAR-A-LAGO WHERE
JEFFREY EPSTEIN MET HER AND SO
WE DON’T KNOW WHO THOSE OTHERS
ARE.
ARE. WE DO KNOW THAT SOME WERE
EMPLOYEES OF HIS WHO ARE NAMED
AS EMPLOYEE ONE, TWO AND THREE,
BUT IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME
DISCOVERY AND SOME TRIAL TO FIND
OUT MORE OF THE DETAILS.
BUT THIS IS INEXPLICABLE, IT’S
TERRIBLE.
TERRIBLE. WE NEED TO PROTECT YOUNG GIRLS
AND THE FACT THAT HE IS NOW IN
CHARGE OF SUPERVISING HUMAN
TRAFFICKING IS REALLY