At a press conference on Wednesday, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta told reporters that new sex crime charges against hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein were a "very, very good thing" and defended the manner in which his office had handled a case against the financier back in 2008.
He also showed no signs of relenting to Democrats' calls for his resignation.
Outrage has been growing, since the Miami Herald recently resurfaced the sweetheart, non-prosecution deal Epstein received when Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Miami.
In 2008, Epstein had been accused of abusing dozens of women and girls, but ultimately pled guilty to prostitution charges. Thanks to the deal, instead of facing a possible life sentence, he served just 13 months of an 18 month sentence in a county jail, during which he was allowed to leave for work.
Epstein was arrested again in New Jersey last weekend and pleaded not guilty Monday to new child sex-trafficking charges for allegations dating back to the early 2000's.
"They've brought these charges based on new evidence against Jeffrey Epstein, who is now a registered sex offender. And this is a very very good thing. His acts are discpable," said Acosta Wednesday. "Epstein's actions absolutely deserve a stricter sentence."
As to the original case, Acosta said it was not clear that the original case would have succeeded at trial because some of the victims were reluctant to testify. "The acts that they had faced were horrible, and they didn't want people to know about them."
The labor secretary said he would release documents that reveal more context of the case.
The chair of the House Oversight Committee has called for Acosta to testify on the subject later this month.
During the press conference, the labor secretary defended his standing in Trump's administration.
"My relationship with the President is outstanding," said Acosta. He also eschewed reports that he had lost the support of the Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri faced a bipartisan Congressional grilling this week as the Senate inquired about safety practices for protecting the mental wellbeing of young people on the platform. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Cheddar to talk about the hearing and how she was disappointed in Instagram coming unprepared with relevant information or documents. Blackburn also offered concern that the platform could continue with building a kids-only version despite having drawn significant opposition from the public.
The Great Resignation has shown some signs of slowing in October with the number of those who quit their jobs falling by 4.7 percent to 4.16 million. This comes as worker strikes and calls for unionization ramp up. Jane Oates, president at WorkingNation joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss the implications.
U.S. markets opened lower despite positive jobs data, which saw weekly claims drop to a 52-year low. Kevin Nicholson, Co-CIO Global Fixed Income, RiverFront Investment Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the labor market, inflation, and the impact of the Omicron variant on global markets.
A packed Thursday pod: Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments in the Ghislaine Maxwell, Jussie Smollett and Elizabeth Holmes trials. Plus, Dems are losing the Hispanic vote, Boris Johnson in trouble again, and is it possible that Adele has peaked?
Jim Bruderman, Vice Chairman at 1879 Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors experienced a 'panic attack' last week with the spread of the Omicron variant and the Fed's tapering plans. As a result, he says we're now seeing stocks climb due to a growing comfort level toward both developments.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, faced withering questions on Capitol Hill about the reports the social media app was aware of the severe mental health impacts it was having on teenage girls. Karen Kornbluh, the director of digital innovation and democracy for the German Marshall Fund, joined Cheddar to discuss the rare show of bipartisan outrage on display at the Senate hearing. "The senators came really loaded for bear on both sides of the aisle," she said. Kornbluh explained how senators like Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) set up fake Instagram accounts with teen girl profiles in order to research the effects firsthand.
The Biden administration will not send an official U.S. delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang." Weifeng Zhong, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss the boycott.
