Labor Secretary Alex Acosta announced on Friday that he was resigning amid controversy over his handling of charges against accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Acosta said he didn’t think it was fair to the administration

“to have Epstein as the focus rather than the incredible economy we have today”.

While serving as U.S. attorney in Florida in 2008, Acosta approved a plea deal that allowed Epstein to serve just 13 months in jail, while being allowed to leave six days a week for work.

Acosta has defended his decision by saying Epstein might have avoided jail time altogether if not for the plea deal. Epstein was arrested last week after new sex trafficking charges were filed in New York.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/us/politics/acosta-resigns-trump.html