President Donald Trump’s first-term labor secretary, Alex Acosta, told congressional investigators on Friday that he never saw the then-businessman’s name appear in any records related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, according to a summary readout of his transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Acosta, who served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida when Epstein secured a controversial 2008 plea deal, also testified that he never personally met Epstein or his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. His appearance before lawmakers marked a rare voluntary interview, as most witnesses in the committee’s Epstein investigation have appeared under subpoena in recent weeks.
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“Alex Acosta cooperated with our questions today and provided information that will help advance our investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases,” said Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in a statement. “We expect to announce new action soon.”
Epstein, who pleaded guilty to state-related prostitution charges in 2008, including solicitation of a minor, served just 13 months in jail with extensive work-release privileges, a deal victims’ advocates and federal judges have since decried as excessively lenient.
Acosta has maintained his defense of the plea agreement but admitted he was disappointed and frustrated that Epstein was ultimately granted work release by Palm Beach County at the time.
He told the panel that his office had received assurances that Epstein would not be granted work release, a condition later allowed by local authorities that he claimed would have changed his office’s approach had they been aware. He expressed remorse over the decision to defer the case to state prosecution, acknowledging it was ultimately his call.
Committee Democrats, however, slammed Acosta’s testimony for lacking accountability. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) told reporters that “Acosta holds no remorse,” while Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) criticized his failure to review victim statements directly at the time of the prosecution.
“He didn’t have faith in the victims’ ability to tell their own stories,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL).
Acosta’s remarks are significant in light of former Attorney General Bill Barr’s previous testimony before the committee. In a transcript released by the committee this week, Barr said if there were any damaging connections between Trump and Epstein, “they would have leaked” during his time overseeing the investigation or after the president lost his bid for reelection in 2020. Epstein died in his prison cell while Barr was attorney general in 2019, and his death was ruled a suicide. His longtime associate, Maxwell, was later found guilty in her criminal sex trafficking case.
The topic of Epstein and Maxwell has gained renewed attention after Democrats seized on the Justice Department’s decision in July to stop releasing additional information related to Epstein in a two-page memorandum, which also said that while Epstein had over 1,000 victims, the convicted sex offender and Maxwell were solely responsible for abusing their victims. While the memo at first enraged and frustrated Trump’s own base, Democrats now see it as a weak point to use as political leverage against the president.
Earlier this month, a so-called “birthday book” was provided to Congress by Epstein’s estate, which contained a drawing and a purported note signed by Trump referring to a “beautiful little secret.” Trump has vehemently denied writing the message and is now suing the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion over its initial report about the letter. Earlier this week, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers he would be open to investigating whether the letter was forged. The birthday book contained letters purportedly from a range of powerful figures, including former President Bill Clinton.
Comer defended the GOP-led inquiry from Democratic criticism, citing Barr’s earlier comments that no evidence links Trump to wrongdoing in the Epstein matter.
“They were battering around so many questions about Trump,” Comer said. “The members were talking over each other,” he said of Democratic members.
Comer also emphasized that the committee is pursuing Treasury Department materials, including suspicious activity reports and bank records, and will soon receive unredacted logs from the Epstein estate.
“The Trump administration is fully cooperating with our investigation,” Comer said of the committee’s efforts to retrieve Treasury records.
ARCHITECT OF EPSTEIN’S LENIENT 2008 PLEA DEAL TO TESTIFY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Comer also signaled interest in compiling a list of individuals to whom Epstein may have trafficked victims. If no such list exists, he said, his committee intends to create one.
A full transcript of Acosta’s testimony will be released to the public in the coming days, according to committee Republicans, who emphasized their commitment to “transparency and accountability” for Epstein’s victims.