Acosta Holds Press Conference to Defend NPA — July 2019

On July 10, 2019, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta held a press conference at the Department of Labor to defend himself against renewed criticism of the Non-Prosecution Agreement he had overseen as the Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney a decade earlier.

The Context

Jeffrey Epstein had been arrested on new federal charges just four days earlier, on July 6, 2019. The arrest immediately revived scrutiny of the 2007-2008 NPA that Acosta had negotiated — an NPA that gave Epstein an extraordinarily lenient outcome and granted federal immunity to unnamed co-conspirators.

Acosta’s Defense

At the press conference, Acosta argued that:

• The NPA was the best outcome available given the evidence strength at the time
• He believed state charges would result in a more lenient outcome without the federal involvement
• Concerns about witness credibility had influenced prosecutorial judgment
• He stood by his team’s work in the case

Critical Reception

Legal commentators and advocates for survivors immediately challenged Acosta’s account. Critics noted that the FBI’s case file documented substantial evidence of federal sex trafficking violations against multiple minors — evidence typically sufficient for far more serious charges than what Epstein pled to.

Resignation

Two days after the press conference, on July 12, 2019, Acosta resigned from his position as Secretary of Labor. In his resignation statement, he said he did not want the NPA controversy to be “a distraction” for the White House.

Significance

Acosta’s press conference and subsequent resignation were defining moments in the public accounting for the NPA’s leniency. His defense — that the NPA was a reasonable outcome — remained deeply contested in legal and survivor advocacy communities.