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.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine raging on, millions have turned to TikTok to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and get a first-hand look. The social media platform has been so prominent that the war has been dubbed "the first TikTok war" by many publications — and even the White House has taken notice. The Biden administration held a virtual briefing with 30 social media creators to discuss their role in communicating to their followers by countering what it deems as being misinformation. Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old TikTok star who attended the briefing, joined Cheddar to talk about the conference and her responsibilities as a social media creator. "How could you not be a little nervous or scared when you're getting your information and media all from this app? But also then you think back to, I guess, when media was changing between newspapers and TV, and I'm sure people were nervous about that too," she said. "So the fact is, is that people do really look to Tiktok and social media for their news."
U.S. markets closed the day at session lows as the Dow marked its fifth straight week of losses. Investors continue to weigh inflation and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and growing economic risk factors. George Seay, CEO of Annandale Capital, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks ended Thursday's session lower as new CPI data show inflation continues to rise and the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Philip Palumbo, founder, CEO, & Chief Investment Officer of Palumbo Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
It's been an eventful past few weeks for the WNBA. One of the league's top players, Brittney Griner, remains in Russian custody after being detained at an airport last month. The league is also dealing with a scandal after fining a team for providing charter flights to their players. Emily Caron, sports business reporter for Sportico, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
School nutrition experts warn that millions of children could go hungry as soon as this summer, after Congress excluded waivers that would extend universal lunch for children in school from the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill. Cheddar News speaks with Jessica Gould, chair of the public policy and legislation committee at the School Nutrition Association, about the issue.
The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage has been impacting everything from the purchase of cars to smartphones. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke with Cheddar about the Biden administration's efforts to combat the issue and if the current crisis in Ukraine will have any impact on the global supply chain problems for semiconductors. "We're working very closely with all of our partners and allies around the globe, just as we have on the export controls and sanctions that we've applied to Russia to deal with that needless aggression," he said. "We're also working with them on the challenges of raw materials for a range of industries, including the semiconductor industry. We believe that we are going to be able to meet the demand for the for the near term."
Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke to Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo about the ongoing semiconductor shortages and the push from the Biden administration to cover the supply chain problem as well as look ahead to future-proofing it.
President Maxx Fenning and Vice President CJ Walden of PRISM, a Florida non-profit providing resources for LGBTQ youth, joined Cheddar News to discuss the negative repercussions of a Florida bill banning discussions of sexuality and gender identity in some classrooms.
