Alexander Acosta served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 2005 to 2009, the period during which the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein was active and ultimately resolved through a plea agreement[4].
By the time Acosta's office assembled its case, federal investigators had documented approximately forty alleged victims and federal prosecutor Ann Marie Villafaña had prepared a fifty-three-count indictment[13, 6 (p. 148)]. Rather than proceeding to trial, Acosta's office entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in 2008[4]. Under the terms of that agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to two state charges solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor to engage in prostitution and served thirteen months in a county jail with a provision permitting him to leave for his Palm Beach office six days a week[13]. The agreement also extended federal immunity to Epstein's named co-conspirators[6 (p. 161)].
Reporting on the negotiation process indicates that Villafaña was told to keep in mind the effect the plea deal would have on Epstein, and was reprimanded for taking an aggressive stance on charging him[6 (p. 148)]. In a written communication to Acosta, Epstein's attorney Lefkowitz stated that prosecutors Krischer and Belohlavek had assured him that Epstein would not have to register as a sex offender, describing registration as "a life sentence... a punishment harsher than what Mr. Epstein deserves"[6 (p. 160)]. Acosta's office ultimately agreed to a formulation that required Epstein to register while also indicating that efforts would be made to circumvent the strictest requirements of sex offender laws[6 (p. 160, 161)]. Prosecutors also agreed not to notify the victims that the deal had been reached[6].
Acosta later stated publicly that intelligence officials had told him to "back off" Epstein at the time, stating that Epstein was of some importance to a separate federal case[13]. That claim has not been independently verified in the public record.
Acosta subsequently served as Dean of Florida International University College of Law. In 2017 President Trump nominated him as U.S. Secretary of Labor, a position he assumed after Senate confirmation. The Miami Herald's 2018 investigative series on the Epstein plea deal renewed public attention to Acosta's role in the agreement[3]. Following Epstein's re-arrest on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019, Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor, stating that he did not want the controversy surrounding the earlier case to distract from the work of the department[13].