July 9, 2019

"Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta on Tuesday faced fresh calls to resign — and rising pressure from inside the Trump administration — over his role in brokering a lenient plea deal..."

"... over sex crimes for the New York financier Jeffrey E. Epstein when he was a federal prosecutor in Miami more than a decade ago. Mr. Acosta, 50, told a friend this week that the plea agreement, in which Mr. Epstein served 13 months after being accused of sexually abusing dozens of young women and underage girls, was the 'toughest deal' available in a complex and difficult case.... For the moment, President Trump supports Mr. Acosta, although two senior administration officials said that could quickly change if more damaging details emerged about the plea agreement. Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he felt 'badly' for Mr. Acosta and praised him as 'an excellent secretary of labor'... But he said the White House would look into the matter 'very carefully.'... The evidence against Mr. Epstein a decade ago in Florida was 'overwhelming,' said [Jack Scarola, lawyer for some of the accusers], calling the terms of the nonprosecution agreement signed in secret by Mr. Acosta’s team 'totally unjustifiable. Even more egregious was the fact that Epstein was not only given personal immunity, his named and unnamed co-conspirators were also immunized for all of their unspecified crimes...That kind of get-out-of-jail-free card is unprecedented and a patent abuse of prosecutorial discretion.'"

From "Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta Faces Calls to Resign Over Epstein Plea Deal" (NYT).

I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.

197 comments:

Achilles said...

I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.

Who voted for Bill Clinton?

Achilles said...

I love how Wikipedia is covering up the fact this guy bankrolled democrats and other uniparty scum for decades.

eddie willers said...

I think Acosta should resign

Why...are you seeing something I'm not?

Amadeus 48 said...

Powerline has been calling for Acosta’s firing for a year. He is guilty of leaving Obama personnel and policies in place at DoL.
off with his head!

Amadeus 48 said...

Achilles—I take it you mean Epstein, not Acosta.

rcocean said...

IOW, if Trump had not selected the guy for Labor Secretary, the press wouldn't have cared about Pedophile Epstein and the abuse of power. After all, they didn't care about this, for what? 12 years? As for Acosta, lets hear his side. If he cares to give it. Also, I'd like to know who SIGNED OFF on Acosta's deal.

Its just the MSM pushing out the same old message. "If you got a skeleton in your closet you'd better vote D. Because if you vote R, we will bring it up and make it public."

narciso said...

or graydon carter, buried the story back in 2002, and new York magazine, did much the same, masking the criminal predicate for as many years, (they got on their infrequent moral crusades, cosby certainly, Weinstein only after 2016) of course cy vance, should resign for his handling of both Weinstein and Epstein,

Achilles said...

Everything coming out now has been known since the deal was made. It has been a topic on "Trashy" news outlets for years.

But this will be reported on as if Trump caused this scandal.

But these news outlets are not trashy.

Orange man bad.

doctrev said...

Yeah, this isn't going to happen. Trump's pretty happily churned through a large portion of his cabinet: considering Acosta's huge under-performance, firing him would be a no-brainer.

Unless of course, Trump's usual backbiters are missing something, as is common. How do you think a relatively minor journalist like Mike Cernovich can successfully challenge DOJ plea deals?

Comanche Voter said...

Well now- -Acosta hasn't been all that and a bag of chips as Labor Secretary. Indeed (harkening to the prior thread) he may be one sandwich shy of a picnic lunch in that position.


That said there are rumours that one reason for Epstein's sweet deal in the original case is that he might have been a government informant. Or just maybe he may have had a lot of naked pictures of prominent people cavorting with fourteen year old girls. He'd promise to keep those from public view in exchange for a lighter sentence.

rcocean said...

This is what the MSM and the Establishment have been doing since August 2015.

"Don't try to do what Trump is doing. Don't go to work for Trump. We will destroy you. We will go through every tax return, your sex life, your family history, everything and anything, and find something bad. And if we can't find it, we'll make it up. We will give you 92 percent negative coverage. We will laugh when people joke about killing you, or spit in your food. And then we will blackball you if you ever get elected and look for a job after leaving office."

Achilles said...

Amadeus 48 said...
Achilles—I take it you mean Epstein, not Acosta.

I know I should have been more clear. Everyone involved in this scenario in 2010 should face justice.

It is interesting how Acosta is the real bad guy now.

Not the child rapist who fed underage girls to Bill Clinton and numerous others. Or Bill Clinton the known rapist.

Because of who is currently president.

narciso said...

Mind you this is not separate from local law enforcement, janet reno, took up where martin dardis left off, and protected a generation of dem pols and even her own staff, from local scandals, and of course there was the fuster witchhunt, she took those habits to Washington,

I'm Full of Soup said...

Why should Acosta be held accountable when it seems it is common for prosecutors to use a huge amount of discretion about who and what gets enforced. I'm looking at you Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Lisa Page, Cheryl Mills, Lois Lerner, etc.

narciso said...

And Acosta only emerged, because the previous candidate had a decades old incident in his background, he would have been pro maga agenda, so he had to be discarded, he was the hardies guy,

Achilles said...

I'm Full of Soup said...
Why should Acosta be held accountable when it seems it is common for prosecutors to use a huge amount of discretion about who and what gets enforced. I'm looking at you Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Lisa Page, Cheryl Mills, Lois Lerner, etc.


Because all of those people are expendable. The powers that be don't care about their tools.

This will be used to get Trump.

The wealthy globalists will do anything and sacrifice anyone to get rid of Trump.

Kevin said...

I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.

Is this going to be one of those things where someone investigates and Acosta has an opportunity to defend his actions?

Or is it going to be one of those knee-jerk, political things, where we don't give a damn about anything except appearances?

Because it seems it was a knee-jerk political thing which created the current situation.

And we should probably be much more thorough this time around.

Hagar said...

I also saw a comment that most of Epstein's crimes are state crimes, but not federal, so there was only so much he could be charged with in federal court. Still heinous, but not what most of the ballyhoo in the media is about.

Amadeus 48 said...

I was frankly surprised that Trump didn’t hammer HRC with Bill’s trips on the Lolita Express, but I don’t believe he did. I chalked it looks up to Trump’s louche history being a topic he’d rather not highlight, braggadocious pussy-grabber that he is.
Now I wonder who Epstein has on tape. Leave it to the Bush/Mueller/Gonzalez DOJ to mess this up to bail out someone’s pals. Epstein probably has tapes of an orgy involving HW Bush, Clinton, Kerry, Dershowitz, Dan Rather, David Letterman, and a bunch of thirteen year old girls from Thailand.

SDaly said...

Acosta was asked about the deal when being interviewed for his current position, and said he the decision on Epstein was taken out of his hands by the intelligence agencies. If that is true, then Acosta should not resign over this (although he is not doing a good job as Sec. of Labor).

The rot surrounding the Epstein matter goes far beyond Acosta, and I don't want him to be made a scapegoat and then let everything go back to "normal".

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Drago believes it’s not Acosta’s fault and that Mueller and Comey made him do it.

MikeR said...

"I think Acosta should resign." I dunno. Maybe he'll liberalize our draconian child labor laws.

Hagar said...

Perhaps the Feds in Epstein's case should forward their information on Epstein to the NYC authorities as they did Manafort and Cohen?

narciso said...

largely, now price grossly underperformed, even though he came with freedom caucus credentials, but Pruitt was run out on a rail, for those with memories longer than a fruit fly, Reagan was forced to fire judge Gorsuch's own mother, over some obscure kerfluffle, same for her successor, jim watts said something stupid, a whole independent counsel was summoned against ted olson, (scalias dissent was subsequently memorized by the dems) two flying monkeys of varying pedigrees were sent against ed meese, the prosecution of ray Donovan, I think mob ties were alleged, upon his acquittal he demanded 'where do I go to get my reputation back'

SDaly said...

This is the story from the Daily Beast:

Epstein’s name, I was told, had been raised by the Trump transition team when Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney in Miami who’d infamously cut Epstein a non-prosecution plea deal back in 2007, was being interviewed for the job of labor secretary. The plea deal put a hard stop to a separate federal investigation of alleged sex crimes with minors and trafficking.

“Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?” Acosta had been asked. Acosta had explained, breezily, apparently, that back in the day he’d had just one meeting on the Epstein case. He’d cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told” to back off, that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone,” he told his interviewers in the Trump transition,

Nichevo said...

I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.


No, Ann.

At best, you *feel* Acosta should resign. Your problem is that you confuse feeling with thinking. If not, refute me thusly:

Explain why Acosta should resign. And explain why President Trump should make that happen.

(I add the caveat that there is a "now" implied in your remarks.)

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Where's his due process?
I need more info.

Also - Smolette

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Is it legal to make such deals without notifying the victims?

Browndog said...

The non-prosecution agreement was handled and approved by "the highest level of the DOJ" according to Dershowitz.

This attempt to pin something on Trump is going to backfire bigly. Then Inga will have to take time off to get her head together. Again.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Where was the victims due process? Underage sex trafficking victims don’t deserve due process, but a federal prosecutor who should know better does?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

So, Acosta, who broke your arm and made you do it?

rhhardin said...

Outrage first, think never.

rhhardin said...

Althouse is a mob waiting to happen.

mockturtle said...

"complex and difficult case" meaning elites were involved.

n.n said...

Due process. Save the warlock trial for women's reproductive rites.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.”

Good luck with that. Maybe Trump has a good reason for supporting Acosta.

rhhardin said...

How many males are victims now of females with bad connections between brain hemispheres.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Q for Chuck Schumer.

Wasn't it your party that re-nominated Bill Clinton after you knew about all his sexual abuse allegations? Huh Chuck Schumer? Shouldn't Chuck Schumer resign?

rhhardin said...

Think how much outrage there would be now if Epstein had said something unfavorable about gay rights.

narciso said...

look how many people were in his rolodex, everyone from prince Andrew, to leading figures in Hollywood, among the major networks, he had the da for manhattan, in his pocket, of course law and order, never touched that case with a 20 foot barge pole, sometimes news is too close to be 'ripped from the headlines'

rhhardin said...

What's the word for a guy who lines up not very bright women for a lawsuit, primes them with indignation, and makes money off them.

narciso said...

what of preet bhaara, he saw fit to send d'nesh to 'reeducation camp' but he couldn't come anywhere near this matter,

rhhardin said...

Talk about preying on vulnerable females. That's apparently most women.

Wince said...

Even more egregious was the fact that Epstein was not only given personal immunity, his named and unnamed co-conspirators were also immunized for all of their unspecified crimes...That kind of get-out-of-jail-free card is unprecedented and a patent abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

Sounds like the Clinton email investigation.

narciso said...

avenatti, it's not a term of art, yet,

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

BTW- Epstein is guilty as far as it appears, and he wasn't held accountable because of his connections. and that is vile. Those connections include all sorts of democrats and the big fish BILL CLINTON.

The politicization of this has nothing to do with Epstein and no one on the left cares about victims. They care about getting a scalp. If Hillary were prez, NONE OF THIS Southern district on NY would be happening.


I need more information as to what role Acosta played in Epstein's non-punishment. If he played a major roll or was paid off - he's a criminal.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

but we don't know that.

Hagar said...

Under age sex trafficking is something we particularly want stopped, thinking of our own children, but in this case it seems describing the girls as "victims" is a little much. The statements of those published so far sounds like "teenage prostitutes" would be more like it.

dreams said...

There is another side to the story.

"Bzzzt. Wrong. Botched it. And they aren't alone in getting this wrong. This line is also being pursued by the media hive: CBS, Bloomberg, others, all convinced that Acosta was protecting Epstein. But Ann Coulter had the real story of that last March, writing that it was Democrats who gave Epstein the sweet plea deal as well as the near no-show jail term, not Acosta. Acosta had merely had the whole mess thrown into his hands and tried to get something out of it for Epstein anyway after all this obfuscation. She wrote:"

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/07/left_goes_into_overdrive_trying_to_pin_epstein_case_on_trump.html

readering said...

Whatabout . . . .

rhhardin said...

Does no woman bring herself up short once in a while, and say to herself, no, this is a national political matter, I have to think like a man for this. Avoid that short-circuit to feelings. Abstract from details, look at the system.

doctrev said...

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2019-03-06.html

I don't know what kind of mental sickness makes some people claim that obviously the tower guard designed, built, and operated the concentration camp all on his own, there was no Wannsee Conspiracy and you're a racist for saying so...

But it's really, really sick, on par with "Well, those Jews must have done something, to get indicted." She-Wolf of the SS indeed!

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“The statements of those published so far sounds like "teenage prostitutes" would be more like it.”

So there is no such thing as sex trafficking in minors?

What is wrong with you people? These girls were victims, not prostitutes.

rhhardin said...

I'm looking for the woman who says, no, I guess I was fooled, but that was my choice and the plane ride was awesome and the food was good. It was what I chose. I should have held out for more, or I regret it now, as the case may be.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Inga - I doubt you'd care if you gal Hillary were president.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“I'm looking for the woman who says, no, I guess I was fooled, but that was my choice and the plane ride was awesome and the food was good. It was what I chose. I should have held out for more, or I regret it now, as the case may be.”

Underage, minors. What is it you people don’t get? Underage girls are not “women”.

rhhardin said...

These girls were victims, not prostitutes.

Partial archetype. The child is pure innocence.

It's actually damaging to them to deny them their responsibility in the matter. The matter itself is not damaging, if evolution is any guide.

YoungHegelian said...

I think Acosta should resign.

As if Acosta sealed a deal like that with Epstein without massive sign-off from the Obama DoJ & the NY State AG & NYC District Attorney.

Maybe Acosta deserves to be punished, but he was just the man on point for a whole lot of people covering their own asses.

Do you think Epstein in transporting underage girls across state lines broke no Federal laws that that the Obama DoJ could have followed up on? Epstein was just too well connected with the Democratic Party & had goods on too many of them.

rhhardin said...

What's in question is whether to buy the hysteria or not. It's really handy, you must admit. A trump card, so to speak.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

" Epstein had given more than $145,000 to Democratic candidates and causes, including Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Chuck Schumer. He was a big Israel backer. Bill Clinton and Democratic activist Ron Burkle were frequent guests on Epstein's private plane, dubbed the "Lolita Express." And Krischer was a hero for his dogged pursuit of Rush Limbaugh! Why bring up all this unpleasantness?

Thanks to Chief Reiter, President Bush's U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, did take the case, despite the fact that only Epstein's child rapes on his plane, on his private island, or with girls brought across state lines would make it a federal case.

As a result of the (Republican-led) federal investigation, Epstein was finally required to plead guilty to two state felony charges, accept a sentence of two years in prison, register as a sex offender, and pay restitution to his victims.

Still no coverage by MSNBC or CNN.

Inasmuch as Epstein was pleading guilty to a state charge, the matter of his confinement was out of the U.S. attorney's hands. It was Democratic county prison officials — not the feds — who placed Epstein in a private wing of the county jail and allowed him to spend 12 hours a day, six days a week at his Palm Beach mansion throughout his 13-month "imprisonment."

In 2014, the brilliant conservative lawyer Paul Cassell and Bradley Edwards brought suit against the federal prosecutors for violating the Crime Victims' Rights Act in the Epstein case.

As bad as the U.S. attorney's office was, at least it did something. Democrat Krischer gave Epstein a walk. But no matter how appalling Krischer's behavior was, the Crime Victims' Rights Act only applies to federal prosecutions. "

rhhardin said...

Resolved: sexual activities with such teens is not damaging to them but the outraged response is damaging to them. Debate.

Not whether it's a good idea (it isn't) or should be illegal (it should be), but whether it damages them. That's the source of hysteria, that point.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

What was the exact date of the plea deal?

“As if Acosta sealed a deal like that with Epstein without massive sign-off from the Obama DoJ & the NY State AG & NYC District Attorney.”

“Back in 2007, Acosta, who was then a U.S. attorney, oversaw a plea agreement that gave Epstein immunity from federal prosecution and allowed him to plead guilty to lesser state charges. At the time, Epstein was accused of sexually abusing young girls.”

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The Washington Post, meanwhile, focuses on Trump's supposed connection to Epstein, painting them as buddies, with Trump supposedly denying it now:

Back in 2002, when Jeffrey Epstein was known only as a mysterious financial whiz with a private island and a roster of A-list friends, being friendly with him was something to boast about. And Donald Trump did.

"I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy," Trump told New York Magazine that year for a story headlined "Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery." "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

rhhardin said...

Likeks wrote decades ago that he was looking forward to seeing his daughter growing up, and wouldn't mind her dating after she's 26.

A joke saying how much he wants to take care of his daughter, and that his instincts on the matter are unreasonable. Both at once.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"Let's look at the timeline.

When did Trump make that statement? 2002.

What happened around 2007? Trump booted Epstein from ever setting foot on the premises of his Mar-a-Lago clubhouse for assaulting an underage female guest. Trump protected the girl from this beast, and got no credit for it.

That's five years later and that doesn't sound like Trump thinks Epstein is a great guy anymore.

Yet the press chooses to wheel out that 2002 statement as proof that Trump and Epstein are still the best of friends and omits the news of the obvious fallout"


FU leftwing liars.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Have we not learned anything from the "jump first, look later" MeToo movement? Wait until the facts come out. Surprised at you, Ann.

narciso said...

the w administration sadly, just mueller didn't cover whitey's backside, without imput from his boss William weld (who collected 880,000 in campaign contributions, btw) and his superiors at main justice, re intelligence matters one can refer to the Edwin Wilson case, a so called 'rogue' intelligence operative, whose private network supplied qaddafi, with c 4, and used fmr company operatives, to target Libyan dissidents, the prosecutor larry barcella, was painted as a white knight, with a glowing profile by peter maas, some 20 years later, after the fellow had ended up flacking for bcci, it was discovered the top officials had lied, about the authorization, for said operations, in the interim some of his personnel, secord, clines et al, later ended up in iran contra,

rhhardin said...

Surprised at you, Ann.

Give her a brake. She's a woman.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrat Krischer gave Epstein a walk. Where is he?

rhhardin said...

Women go for whether somebody means well. Men go for who has the overall workings of the system in mind.

Women can decide stuff a lot faster than men. Widespread but shallow processing.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

thanks for the link, Dreams.

Found here.

Info not found at NYT or hack-WaPo.

rhhardin said...

Amazon Pantry seems to be a way to order groceries at grocery store prices but you pay for shipping even if you're a Prime member. A way around what you thought you paid for in order to offer groceries.

System analysis, subject to revision.

We'll see if it works.

Kroger doesn't carry Carnation malted milk powder.

Achilles said...

Inga...Allie Oop said...
So, Acosta, who broke your arm and made you do it?


Who was president in 2010?

Browndog said...

Libs want AG Barr to 'recuse' himself from the Epstein case.

We can't be 48 hours away from our first "Putin" reference.

Achilles said...

rhhardin said...
Does no woman bring herself up short once in a while, and say to herself, no, this is a national political matter, I have to think like a man for this. Avoid that short-circuit to feelings. Abstract from details, look at the system.

1. A lot of men don't do this.

2. These people would not be as useful if they were capable of abstract and critical thought.

Fritz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fritz said...

Can we abolish the Labor Dept on his way out?

Rabel said...

Alex, get back in the truck!

- Don

Rick said...

From the link above:

Unaware of my personal history with Epstein, this person assured me that the New York financier was no serious harm to anyone. He was a good guy. A charming guy. Useful, too. He knew a lot of rich Arabs, including the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and, further, he had clever ideas about creating bond issues for them. “OK, so he has a girl problem,” this person threw on, almost as an afterthought.

This is an interesting comment tying in the "intelligence" comments. Maybe his interest in girls got him access to wealthy Arabs with the same fetish and the access to information earned his sentence.

Against that many girls have spoken of their events (I think something like 18 for the one big article from a few years ago) and I don't recall them asserting any Arab involvement. Maybe he kept his groups separate.


The "bond" claims seem bogus though. He didn't leave Bear Sterns to start his own firm, he was fired for a security regulatory violation. He was always a shady dirtbag. Maybe that's how he made his money: introducing his wealthy Arab connections to the other shady people on Wall St whose willingness to violate rules would give them an investment advantage.

rhhardin said...

What would politicians and media have to work with if it weren't for outrage.

It would be all city-council meetings.

Even those not subject to outrage keep up with the news now, just to be alarmed by what the outraged mobs are up to.

tshanks78 said...

Unless Acosta is helping...

rhhardin said...

Women like the soothing feel of gasoline and leaking natural gas, and are a perfect audience for any political spark.

rhhardin said...

You want shallow but wide thinking when it's a neighborhood matter. How to deal with the neighbor's problem. A system approach is not the best there. Go with feelings.

bagoh20 said...

What a terrible way to handle justice. The victims got squat while being locked out of the whole process, the perpetrators got immunity, the lawyers got paid very well, and the crimes continued. Somebody sure as hell screwed the pooch, and if it was Acosta, he needs to pay at least this very minor price for allowing it.

I guess I'm outraged, but imagine how the victims feel, and there are a bunch of them.

bagoh20 said...

When are you legal minds gonna fix your nasty profession?

Birkel said...

readering objects to calling attention to the johns who happen to be Democratics.
She thinks calling attention to criminal activity detracts from focusing on the criminals.

Calling for criminal prosecution of criminals is now whataboutism.

Does the stupid partisanship hurt your tiny brain?

Maillard Reactionary said...

Completely agree with our Hostess here. Long overdue. Acosta is a douche.

Danno said...

Acosta did more to penalize Epstein than the people (Comey) who looked at Hillary's breach of security and violation of law on computers/email. Where is the outrage?

effinayright said...

Roman Polanski gets a pass from the Beautiful People for his sexual abuse of under-age girls.

Acosta gets pissed on by the Progs for being too lenient to Epstein---but they give a pass to Bill Clinton.

The prosecutor in the Central Park rape/murder case gets pissed on for being too tough on the black perps, who were exonerated on very flaky grounds...


How connveeeenient!!!

Birkel said...

Acosta should have been fired a year ago. Get a small government guy into Labor to wreck shop.

I sure do wish Mueller hadn't taken the reins out of local prosecutors' hands.

eddie willers said...

Can we abolish the Labor Dept on his way out?

If that's part of the deal....yeah, can him!

Fen said...

Did this not come out in his confirmation hearings? Or where there any? Or is this new info?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

No questions. The leftwingers need a scalp.

Fen said...

Inga: Underage girls are not “women”.

What if they identify as women? (Your side's rules, not mine)

Rick said...

I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.

I think Trump should get to the bottom of why Acosta gave Epstein this deal.

Francisco D said...

Acosta was asked about the deal when being interviewed for his current position, and said he the decision on Epstein was taken out of his hands by the intelligence agencies.

I do not know if that is true or not, but we need to know more about how and why the deal was reached. Acosta needs to stay and explain what he knows.

I am disappointed that Althouse seems to have fallen for the MSM/DNC Smear Trump campaign by wanting Acosta's resignation.

Aren't you curious to know all that happened, even if some of your faves are implicated?

steve uhr said...

The pressure is building. I say he’s out by Friday. From a purely political perspective trump wins if Acosta goes.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Underage, minors. What is it you people don’t get? Underage girls are not “women”.”

Depends on your definition. Teenaged post pubescent females are typically called “young women”, which are, essentially “women” on the younger side. And that is mostly what we are talking about - post pubescent female minors. There is some indication that he did have some pictures of girls right around menarche, but that doesn’t appear to have been common.

Yancey Ward said...

What Acosta should have done in 2008 was resign in protest, but if he had done so, legal ethics would have made it impermissible for him to tell the public why he was resigning. However, that deal almost certainly was handed to Acosta by his superiors in the Bush II DoJ- Acosta is reported to have said exactly that to some reporters at the time, and I believe him.

So, should he be fired for following those orders in 2008? I will also put something else out there- this is a public corruption unit case, and it is entirely likely that they are looking into how Epstein got that plea deal and other non-prosecution/investigation decisions. There are likely to be some very nervous people who worked in the state prosecution offices in Florida and New York, and worked in the Bush II and Obama DoJs.

Ann Althouse said...

My position isn’t about smearing Trump. It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue. Trump has been strong on the human trafficking issue. He should take the upper hand here and be tough.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Fransisco D @6:08

That's what I think. We don't know the truth, and if your information comes from dubious sources like the Alphabet channels, CNN or MSNBC, then we really need to wait for the truth.

narciso said...

So can one trust Vance with this case, actually the current DOJ should take the case away from him.

Yancey Ward said...

Acosta does have to explain explicitly what happened in 2008. If it is as I suspect- that he was implementing the decisions made by his line management at the time- then I don't see that he should resign as the Secretary of Labor, though Trump might want him to just to be rid of the appearance of impropriety- but let us be fucking honest with ourselves here- even if Acosta were fired tomorrow, the media and the Democrats would use it to smear Trump anyway. I would want to know that Acosta was the reason Epstein got that plea deal before calling for him to resign.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Steve Uhr - we are still waiting for you Covington teen smear apology. You lost that one. LOST.
(since this is all a game to you)

btw - F pressure. Let the sun shine in.

Yancey Ward said...

"My position isn’t about smearing Trump. It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue. Trump has been strong on the human trafficking issue. He should take the upper hand here and be tough."

If Acosta was the one pushing the leniency, then, yes, he should be fired. I would want to know this is the case first, though. I wouldn't want to smear Acosta by firing him without knowing a great deal more about those negotiations.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Yancy Ward @ 6:40.
Yes.

Francisco D said...

My position isn’t about smearing Trump. It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue.

The Democrats and their MSM allies will create the issue no matter what Trump does with Acosta. For Christ's sake, they are still yapping about Russian Collusion and Obstruction well after the Mueller report.

I propose that Trump's people at DOJ get all the info they can from Acosta and, if necessary have him go public with that information.

This is another opportunity to drain the Swamp!

Howard said...

I thought Acosta lost his credentials months ago.

narciso said...

Very interesting:


https://mobile.twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1148297810309201920?fbclid=IwAR3hEsrzloc_GInvptYOoUGEymAhbV0LmhkktIKGhzkeWWPcYzSBGPN0Sh0

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“And that is mostly what we are talking about - post pubescent female minors.”

Legally speaking they are not women. 13 and 14 year old girls are not women. If you think that it’s ok to consider them women, you’re a sicko.

Howard said...

This is good for you people fingering out how to defend a pedophile before Trump's infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.

Howard said...

Nuttering Nabobs of Nambla

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“This is good for you people fingering out how to defend a pedophile before Trump's infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.”

And some of them sure are trying hard to find an angle to get Acosta off the hook.

Ooooo it’s Comey and Mueller’s doing!!


narciso said...

There was no search warrant then, how did all the photographic appear 12 years later?

rcocean said...

My position isn’t about smearing Trump. It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue. Trump has been strong on the human trafficking issue. He should take the upper hand here and be tough.

I want to know the facts before we hand the media/Democrats a Trump Cabinet members scalp. Like:

01) Was Acosta told to make this deal by a superior? If so, Who? Name Names. And who signed off on the deal? Name Names.
02) Why was this scandal ignored by the media for over 10 years? What's their excuse for burying the story?
03) Why did Obama's DoJ do nothing about this for 8 years? What's their excuse?
04) Why is this suddenly a big issue with the Democrats/MSM? Is it only because of Acosta is Dept of Labor Head under Trump? Why the sudden interest?

IF Acosta resigns NOW, the story will be Trump cabinet member cut deal with Epstein. And Trump likes Pedophiles. Epstein=Trump =Acosta. And the story of why this crooked deal came about and why it was buried for 8-10 years will be forgotten.

SDaly said...

If Acosta was implementing the policy of his superiors, and he was told that Epstein was an intelligence asset, then I see no reason for him to resign at all (for this, again, I think he has been a weak Secretary of Labor).

It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue.

Yes. Because we all know that if Acosta resigns, the MSM will credit Trump with getting rid of him, rather than taking it as an admission that Acosta is guilty -- and Trump is guilty for hiring him. If Acosta didn't do anything wrong, and it comes out that Mueller (at FBI) and whoever was head of CIA and/or NSA at the time told him to back off, Trump will get credit for standing by him, just as he got credit for standing by Kavanaugh in the face of the media firestorm.

rcocean said...

As someone posted, Ann Coulter has been talking about this for years, and no else cared. Including the girlie-men at National Review. No doubt they're going to write a "The Conservative Case for Billionaire sex perverts" in their next issue.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Oh BTW, Obama didn’t get inaugurated until January 2009.

rcocean said...

The Media are going to criticize Trump NO MATTER WHAT. He gets 92% negative coverage. NO MATTER WHAT. if he fires Acosta tomorrow, then they will move on to the next "Orange Bad" story. And they will NOT say "Trump handled that well". They will say "Trump with A-OK With having a pedophile enabler in his cabinet until the D's FORCED him to fire him"

Michael K said...

“This is good for you people fingering out how to defend a pedophile before Trump's infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.”

As usual, the stupid is strong with Inga. The left is desperate and will even sacrifice Clinton and Menendez to try to get Trump.

Good luck figuring out what happened to you when a huge number of lefties go down with the ship. Have you seen Epstein's list ?

Of course not.

SDaly said...

Inga -

You know that the Miami Herald long ago reported that Epstein had been a cooperating witness in their investigations of others on Wall Street, right? It's not as if suspicion that he got a special deal because he was working for the government was plucked out of thin air. Hello, Whitey Bulger (weird that Robert Mueller was involved in covering up for Bulger, too)!

rcocean said...

Oh BTW, Obama didn’t get inaugurated until January 2009.


Where was all your concern over Epstein in 2009-2016? Show us the evidence of your concern. LOL. You probably want an age of consent of 14, like all liberals.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Howard said...

Doc: The Dems need to clean house and this is Fenton's Reagent. It also makes Unka Joe hair smelling seem wholesome.

Michael said...

I think that everybody who ever fucked up once in his or her life should resign immediately, tomorrow.

Seeing Red said...

I think Trump should wait until more names appear and make it a clean sweep.

n.n said...

What compelling interest advises that we should short-circuit due process? He's not a dictator that has lost favor. He's not a president that doesn't meet democratic fervor. He's not even a baby, a burden... or maybe he is.

Seeing Red said...

Why should Acosta be held accountable when it seems it is common for prosecutors to use a huge amount of discretion about who and what gets enforced. I'm looking at you Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Lisa Page, Cheryl Mills, Lois Lerner, etc.


Smollett.

Michael said...

Epstein may well have been an FBI informant or a sleazy operative for the CIA. In any event he obviously had friends who twisted Acosta's arm to make a deal. A very good deal.

n.n said...

I think Trump should wait until more names appear and make it a clean sweep.

Yes, allow Deep Plunger to continue clearing the muck and other obstructions, and see what is forced to the surface.

Seeing Red said...

The statements of those published so far sounds like "teenage prostitutes" would be more like it.”

So there is no such thing as sex trafficking in minors?

What is wrong with you people? These girls were victims, not prostitutes.


But enuf about our southern border.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Legally speaking they are not women. 13 and 14 year old girls are not women. If you think that it’s ok to consider them women, you’re a sicko.”

Be interesting why you thought that there was a legal definition of “women”. Here is what I found in Black’s Law Dictionary:

What is WOMEN?

All the females of the human species. All such females who have arrived at the age of puberty. Dig. 50, 16, 13.


Which is essentially what I was saying, “women” are human females who have arrived at the age of puberty, which is menarche. I think that you are correct about googling most 13 and 14 year olds is sick, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t “women”. And making things worse, likely because of the frequent consumption of hormone laced milk, menarche for some young women in this country is now sometimes 8 or 9.

While sometimes of Epstein’s stable may have been recruited at 13-14, most of the ones provided to his friends seem to have been maybe 15 and older, probably more like 16-17. Technically still minors, but often almost indistinguishable visually from adult women.

My point previously is that for a lot of men, facing their own male menopause, older teenagers seem to be the sweet spot in sexuality for them. Getting down closer to menarche, such as your 13-14 year olds, still triggers their male protection reflexes, at least probably for most males in that situation.

Rick said...

Inga...Allie Oop said...
Oh BTW, Obama didn’t get inaugurated until January 2009.


Yes we know your only interest is how the blame impacts your political preferences.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Epstein may well have been an FBI informant or a sleazy operative for the CIA. In any event he obviously had friends who twisted Acosta's arm to make a deal. A very good deal.”

It is looking more and more like Epstein was a National Security (CIA, DoJ NSB, FBI NSD, etc) asset, instead of a Law Enforcement (the criminal side of DoJ and FBI) asset before he was busted originally, since the orders to give him a sweetheart deal appears to have come from those agencies.

narciso said...

In the 90s bill Clinton picked kendall coffey to be the us atty he had no prosecutorial experience, his first major case was a drug kingpin due the magluta and falcon case, they bribed the jurors so they hung, and he was so frustrated he ended up in a strip club where he decked a dancer with a bottle on din perignon

Nichevo said...

steve uhr said...
The pressure is building. I say he’s out by Friday. From a purely political perspective trump wins if Acosta goes.

7/9/19, 6:21 PM


I don't know if you and Althouse are stupid or evil or both. For one thing, the only way you can squeeze an Acosta is to keep him in office so that you have a hold on him. Once he's gone you can't make him talk, by giving him orders or sequestering his pension or whatever it is.

It's not like the guy is going to do jail time under any circumstances whatsoever. And, if his story holds up about following orders, why should he be the scapegoat? What is the point?

And what is the political advantage in firing people, who may not be guilty, under pressure? I just don't understand how you think.

MadTownGuy said...


Inga...Allie Oop said...
And that is mostly what we are talking about - post pubescent female minors.”

Legally speaking they are not women. 13 and 14 year old girls are not women. If you think that it’s ok to consider them women, you’re a sicko.
"

...yet you will assert that they have women's reproductive rights and there is no need to get permission from their parents for an abortion...interesting.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“As usual, the stupid is strong with Inga. The left is desperate and will even sacrifice Clinton and Menendez to try to get Trump.”

As usual the dementia is strong with Michael K. That isn’t my quote you senile coot.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“It is looking more and more like Epstein was a National Security (CIA, DoJ NSB, FBI NSD, etc) asset, instead of a Law Enforcement (the criminal side of DoJ and FBI) asset before he was busted originally, since the orders to give him a sweetheart deal appears to have come from those agencies.”

And you know this...how? More conspiracy theory shit. What is it with you loons?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“My point previously is that for a lot of men, facing their own male menopause, older teenagers seem to be the sweet spot in sexuality for them. Getting down closer to menarche, such as your 13-14 year olds, still triggers their male protection reflexes, at least probably for most males in that situation.”

What is your point? You are coming very close to excusing grown old men from sexually abusing minor girls.

What is wrong with you?

Rick said...

More conspiracy theory shit. What is it with you loons?

Why do those who believe the biggest conspiracy theory since the moon landing constantly accuse others of being conspiracy theorists?

Vicky Ward, THE reporter with the most credibility on Epstein after writing multiple articles on him pushing this angle, reported being told this. It's revealing to note that left wingers seem never to notice evidence which doesn't fit their political agenda.

It's quite an amazing coincidence.

wildswan said...

Basically this is about the Clintons and Epstein. Naturally the MSM is trying to make it about Trump through Acosta. I think Acosta should explain the deal, explain what he meant by telling the Trump transition team that Epstein was protected by the intelligence agencies, if he made that statement. But it's about Clinton. Clinton was President from 1993-2001 and has been acting badly ever since and it has been covered up. Robert Muller was head of the FBI 2001-2013. It's entirely unacceptable to pretend that it's OK to exploit under-age girls. They cannot consent because they cannot see what's coming or what it means for their future psychologically. Why did these men want that age disparity? It's impossible to believe they didn't degrade those young girls in ways that go far beyond "normal" prostitution. And if the biggest stars in Hollywood could not defend themselves against Harvey Weinstein, why should we think that a sixteen-year-old girl isolated on an island could defend herself against wealthy and powerful men?

As I understand it Trump banned Epstein from Mar a Lago to protect his employees.

Howard said...

Blogger Inga...Allie Oop said...

“My point previously is that for a lot of men, facing their own male menopause, older teenagers seem to be the sweet spot in sexuality for them. Getting down closer to menarche, such as your 13-14 year olds, still triggers their male protection reflexes, at least probably for most males in that situation.”

What is your point? You are coming very close to excusing grown old men from sexually abusing minor girls.

What is wrong with you?


He clearly stated his male menopause made him do it, that's whats wrong with him

narciso said...

Ward has gone on to more 'brave' material, like publishing every scrap of garbage about the trump kids.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“You know that the Miami Herald long ago reported that Epstein had been a cooperating witness in their investigations of others on Wall Street, right?”

Yes I am aware of that, however I don’t believe for a second that child sex trafficking victims would be thrown under the bus in favor of getting a conviction for securities fraud by any US law enforcement agency. There’s more to this story and to blame it on Comey and Mueller is simplistic.

narciso said...

Its reported epsteins partner was never trumper and Romney donor len wexner.

narciso said...

It's in the emails czernovich turned up between justice the press and his attorneys

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Drago and some other idiots were pushing the idea that because Comey and Mueller were at the FBI at the time of Acosta’s plea deal, that they were behind it and forced him to do it.

narciso said...

The explanations preferred not wexner connections,

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

AA: “I think Acosta should resign. And I think Trump ought to make that happen.”

As Darth Vader said, “Impressive, most impressive.”

I think you should be more consistent, Ann. Bill Clinton’s is a thrice-thrice-thrice-thrice-thrice-multiple-thrice SCUMBAG!!!!!!!!!

Why don't people like you call it out?????

You know....

Asking for a friend.

narciso said...

He was only the bureau director, Comey might have gone over to bridgewater partners by 2005.

wildswan said...

A thing I notice about the Clintons is the way in which they destroy everyone who comes near them. Perhaps people start by doing wrong things for the Clintons because they think the Clintons will protect them but soon they find that they are protecting the Clintons. And then, in a sort of eel-like twist, the Clintons completely disappear from the situation and their former friend or associate is left holding the bag and facing ruin; and commits suicide or goes to jail. But people never learn; the MSM is covering for the Clintons right now.

Vance said...

inga, Inga, Inga....

Conservatives have been harping on Epstein for years. Years! It's not like your favorite Billy Boy Clinton's excursions on the Lolita Express were not known. But the left didn't care at all. Bill Clinton was useful then, so what's a minor thing like child rape? Just like Roman Polanski, the left loved Epstein.... until now.

You know what? Democrat Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat from New Jersey, has been credibly accused of flying south and having sex with these minor girls you are so concerned about. You have, repeatedly, demonstrated absolutely zero concern at all for them. I know because back when you were salivating over Judge Moore, I brought up Menendez, and Bill Clinton's Epstein fueled little girl orgies, and you couldn't care less. You claimed that it didn't matter, that Judge Moore was guilty as sin and who cares about the left's total endorsement of child rape by leftists? Or words to that effect. Point being, you leftists defended Bill Clinton at the time, you defend Roman Polansk even now.

So please spare us all the self righteousness and "how dare you defend Epstein and child sex!!!" holier than thou-ness. It sure hasn't been you leftists that showed any signs at all of concern about Epstein in the past. And why not? After all, NAMBLA is a huge leftist group, and the LGBT community is all in on lowering the age of consent to 12 or so--another thing you support. And if the age of consent is 12, then these girls were not underage, were they? It's what you leftists want after all! How many times have you lectured us, finger a-waving, about how young girls should be able to get abortions at will, not even telling their parents how they got knocked up by some teacher or whomever?

Face it: the left has gone all in on sexualizing young girls and boys, telling us how it's so right and how dare we inject our outdated morality to say it is wrong for 13 year old. girls to not be little sluts. Obama's education czar was all about teaching young teenagers how to have crazy perverted sex--and you and your side totally defended him. Now you pretend to be all shocked, shocked that a horde of leftists are in danger of being swept up in this Epstein mess, and you are blaming Republicans and Conservatives for it all? Have some self respect, woman, and take responsibility for your side's decades long campaign to normalize sex with young people, well underaged.

The party of Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton has zero room for holier than thou moralizing.

madAsHell said...

Acosta?? Is this the same prick with a CNN microphone?

/sarc

Rick said...

Manhattan DA and Democrat Cy Vance in 2011:

https://nypost.com/2019/07/09/cy-vance-challenger-slams-da-for-downgrading-epsteins-sex-offender-status/

During a 2011 sex offender registry hearing, Vance’s office inexplicably argued to downgrade Epstein — who was required to register in 2008 under a sweetheart non-prosecution plea deal in Miami involving one underage victim — from level 3 to the less-restrictive level 1 status, despite a detailed state assessment obtained by The Post that deemed Epstein highly dangerous and likely to prey again.

“Why did the DA’s office ignore a confidential state assessment that deemed Epstein to be highly dangerous? Which lawyers for Mr. Epstein approached the office to have his offender status reduced?” Bragg raged in a statement.

Isn't it interesting none of our leftist commenters care about this? Revealing.

With them everything is subjugated to politics.

wwww said...

I do not care if Acosta resigns or not. I'm glad this guy is being prosecuted, both for justice and because it (allegedly) sounds like he continued to victimize additional girls.

"Depends on your definition. Teenaged post pubescent females are typically called “young women”, which are, essentially “women” on the younger side."

Don't fool yourself about this situation. It's not a man who mistakenly thought he was with a 20 year old. This is not a man who wanted women who looked like they were 18-21 years old. This is not a man who visited a brothel and mistakenly thought the woman was over 18. He deliberately recruited girls. He had a upper-age limit. (Allegedly)

According to one witness: He got mad at one girl he met when she was 14. As she got older, she couldn't recruit the younger girls from Jr. High and the lower ranks of high school. He wanted ages 12-16. He wanted them to look young. (Allegedly)

Many 13, 14 and 15 year old girls look different from 18 year old women. He targeted girls who looked 12,13, 14, 15, 16. He was unhappy with one girl because her breasts were "too big." (Allegedly)

Some were in Jr. High school. He kept the report card for one girl. He sent flowers to a girl at school when she was in a production. There were not just 1, 5, or 10 underage girls. There were more then 80. He had a particular age he targeted. (Allegedly)

He did not target young women. He did not target 18-20 year olds. He lured 12-16 year olds away from Jr. High and High School, targeted the captain of a cheer team, targeted girls who came from broken families, who were poor. Then he offered money for them to rub his feet. Then more. Asked them to sit and show their breasts. He carefully groomed as he introduced more and more sexual stuff. More and more until he held one child down and gave her 1000 dollars after. (Allegedly)

It's classic grooming behaviour that pedos do to their child victims. "Hey little girl I've got candy for you."

Don't fool yourself about this guy.

Achilles said...

Ann Althouse said...
My position isn’t about smearing Trump. It’s advice about handling it well and not letting the Democratic have this issue. Trump has been strong on the human trafficking issue. He should take the upper hand here and be tough.


Garbage.

Your advice is applicable only if there are reasonable decent people involved.

Democrats voted for a known rapist. They voted for his wife knowing she attacked and smeared his victims. They all knew about Epstein and the "Lolita Express" for a decade.

Democrats do not care about the law, justice, or the victims. They care only about power and how to use this to get more power.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Whose DOJ was it? Not Obama’s. Who was pulling the strings? Possibly rich and powerful pedophiles.

“Why did the Department of Justice cut such a deal? Acosta claimed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office worried it would have trouble proving federal charges against Epstein. With all respect to Acosta—who, in full disclosure, was a law-school classmate—that explanation is not credible. Federal prosecutors are famously reluctant to bring hard-to-prove cases, unlike district attorneys, who are generally eager to roll the dice. But no federal prosecutor would hesitate to pursue allegations of pervasive, organized child-sex abuse, backed by firsthand witnesses. It is more plausible that Epstein successfully wielded his nearly incomprehensible money and power to influence the decision at the highest levels. The personal attacks on the prosecution likely helped too: Federal prosecutors aren’t used to being on the defensive. I once prosecuted a defendant with the resources to hire a famed Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theorist to spin elaborate tales about me; it was unsettling and made the case extremely difficult.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-indictment-hes-out-luck/593512/

Howard said...

Inga: I think Vance is masturbating when he writes a post to you.

Vance said...

Remember folks, the left said that Ted Kennedy is the "Lion of the Senate" and the model Democrat Senator.

Mary Jo Kopechne? Who cares, right? She wasn't worth anything anyway.... just a minor problem that went away. Inga has zero problems with lionizing good ol Ted Kennedy. He was great for women's rights to an abortion, after all! Surely old Ted Kennedy didn't have any ulterior motives in supporting the right of women to kill unwanted children..... He's the perfect leftist! Just like what's her name, the feminist who said every girl in America should give Bill Clinton a BJ in exchange for the right to kill their kids. Inga's a-ok with that, naturally! Women servicing Democrats sexually is a good thing, isn't that right Inga?

(Never, ever forget that Ted Kennedy actually colluded with Russia, offering to cancel Reagan's Star Wars in exchange for Russian help in his campaign to be President. Treason, it's normally called. See the Verona files. The left declared Teddy to be the perfect Senator after this was well known. Treason with Russia is a-ok if you are a Democrat, after all.)

As for Acosta... he claimed he was ordered to do this. So let's see if he was telling the truth. Inga says "No way!" Sure, I mean... no way can she possibly conceive of her perfect President Bill Clinton possibly arranging something done to squash some illegal Clinton activity. They are pure as the driven snow, no matter how many girls Bill raped!

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Inga: I think Vance is masturbating when he writes a post to you.”

Ew.

Vance said...

Oh, and Howard is the same: Killing young women is a-ok for him, as long as the killer is a powerful Democrat Senator. Raping little girls is great if you are a reliable Democrat movie director, e.g. Roman Polanski. Lolita Express? Ask Howard if Bob Menendez should resign--we all know Howard doesn't care.

Vance

Marcus Bressler said...

I prefer to wait until further information is brought forward regarding Acosta's role before damning him to unemployment. Not like the Hostess who by her impulsive nature wants his head on a platter because she FEELS he is guilty of SOMETHING. Sorta like how she believed CBF. What a toad. Law professors are supposed to believe in due process, even in employment decisions.

THEOLDMAN

narciso said...

Well as Charlie pierce put 'if Mary jo had lived, she would appreciate all the good Ted Kennedy did'

Vance said...

Put simply: the left knew--KNEW-- about Epstein for years. They did zero, they said zero, they fully accepted it and condoned it.

So anything they say now, claiming horror and outrage and so forth, is a complete utter lie. Epstein was their friend, a money source, and they knew all about the little girl problem.... heck, most of them participated.

So all of this "Republicans should be blamed!!!!!" is pure cynical transparent political posturing. We all know it. They had no problems at all with Epstein for decades. They have no problems with him now.

Howard said...

I love it when Vance nips at his secret stash of vodka and drunk-posts. A poor substitute for Etienne, but we'll take it

Vance said...

Yes, Howard.... except I don't drink. And I note that, as usual, you have no substantive comment or defense. I raised the specific point that the party of Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton cannot claim that Epstein is bad.

What is your substantive defense? You and your party clearly condone sexual abuse of women, regardless of age. Your party knew about Epstein for years--do you deny it? If so, please point to that evidence. Your side said zero about Epstein for all of these years. Clearly, prominent leftists raping young women, as Inga would say, didn't bother anyone on your side.

And sniping comments claiming I'm drunk doesn't absolve you of that fact. It ain't the left that says under age girls shouldn't be having sex with adults--you guys want to lower the age of consent. Not the right. Your side wants to make it perfectly legal for a 13 year old boy or girl to have sex with older people.

And you are the one claiming I'm at fault somehow. Please. Still, having seen your posting habits before, it's no surprise that all you have is invective and personal attacks. I've yet to see any sort of substantive comment from you on any topic, just personal attacks.

Lydia said...

This sounds about right -- at Powerline:

...the indictment of Epstein, coupled with the unsealing of the file from his prior prosecution, will keep Alex Acosta in the headlines for the foreseeable future. Thus, the Secretary of Labor will be an ongoing source of embarrassment to President Trump, and the question of why he allows Acosta to remain in his job (if he does) will become ever more acute.

Given these realities, I got a good laugh out of the title of this Politico story: “The next 72 hours are critical for Acosta.” Politico reporters Anita Kumar and Daniel Lippman quote sources who seem to think that if Acosta can ride out the next three days, his job will be safe.

With Epstein and Acosta likely to be in the news for months and months, it’s hard for me to believe that Acosta will be home and dry if he survives the next three days. After three days, will Trump really want to have to explain during a presidential debate why he has retained in his Cabinet the man who let a serial pedophile off with little more than a slap on the wrist?

narciso said...

Ah anita Kumar of the Washington post and the Miami herald, it's hard to figure out whose angld they are playing at any one time.

donald said...

Yes I am aware of that, however I don’t believe for a second that child sex trafficking victims would be thrown under the bus in favor of getting a conviction for securities fraud by any US law enforcement agency. There’s more to this story and to blame it on Comey and Mueller is simplistic.

You haven’t really been following the absolute corruption of our federal government have you?

narciso said...

And in the end they dont even follow financial crimes:
https://www.newsbusters.org/journalists/anita-kumar

SDaly said...

It’s also simplistic to think that a local US Atty would singlehandedly have made the decision on whether or not to prosecute a case of this magnitude without input from Main Justice. I know that this was Bush’s DOJ at the time. Coney was not in the government at that time, so I don’t know who is throwing his name around. But Mueller would have known about it.

Mueller also let David Asimov, who was found with an enormous collection of chid pornography and video equipment, off with a slap on the wrist. there is something bigger than Clinton, or Bush, or Obama, or Trump going on behind these cases.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Coney was not in the government at that time, so I don’t know who is throwing his name around. But Mueller would have known about it.”

Drago and Birkel.

traditionalguy said...

It is obvious that Acosta as a United states Attorney had to take his orders from the CIA who wanted their honeypot operation preserved at all costs. Only the election of Trump has blown up that operation and now exposed all who were controlled and silenced by falling into it.Had HRC won, none of this would ever have seen light.

And of course the British Royals are in it up to their Globalist Nazi Necks. It is also the probable source of most of the 100,000 sealed federal Indictments.

The DNI and his boys are all going down. Trump has won it all.

narciso said...

Maybe they arent that efficient trad guy, yes they use world finance nugan hand castle bank as sources for financing,

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“In 2007, a federal grand jury subpoenaed the computers. That August, Acosta, who is now Donald Trump’s labor secretary, entered into plea agreement discussions with Epstein. Because of those talks, a motion to compel production of Epstein’s computers was delayed, according to the Miami Herald. Epstein held out, however, resisting the deal because it would require him to register as a sex offender. The FBI continued investigating and in March 2008, according to the Miami Herald, preparations were being made to take the case to a new federal grand jury.

That would prove unnecessary, as Epstein agreed to a deal with Acosta. Without notifying the 32 identified victims, the federal government reached a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in exchange for his guilty plea in state court to a minor offense. He pleaded guilty on June 30.

On July 7, 2008, federal prosecutors told Epstein’s attorneys via email that they intended to notify the 32 victims about the agreement. Epstein’s lawyers and the prosecutors debated how much of the agreement to reveal, settling on a less than full accounting.”

https://theintercept.com/2019/07/09/jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-shredder/

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“After consulting Justice Department ethics officials, Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing the sex-trafficking case of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in New York, according to reports.”

Why? After saying he would, now he changes his mind? This stinks to high heaven.

MayBee said...

narciso said...
what of preet bhaara, he saw fit to send d'nesh to 'reeducation camp' but he couldn't come anywhere near this matter,


I've wondered about Preet's lack of Epstein indictment, too.

The Godfather said...

Epstein? Epstein? No, no, no. Focus on Acosta.

Acosta? Who the f*** is Acosta?

He works for Trump.

Acosta! Acosta! Acosta! Why the f*** doesn't Trump fire Acosta?

Because Trump thinks old men f***ing young girls is just fine. Get with the program.

narciso said...

Because he wasnt a party to the case, 12 years, plus he trusts the sdny like I would trust a rattlesnake

MayBee said...

I'm reading-- well listening on Audible-- to James Patterson's Filthy Rich, about Epstein.

Rick said...

Inga...Allie Oop said...
“Coney was not in the government at that time, so I don’t know who is throwing his name around. But Mueller would have known about it.”


There's one other person not in government then whose name keeps coming up. but in that case its brought up by Inga rather than her defending him. Whatever could the difference be?

MayBee said...

Barr should not recuse himself. That's Comey's play. Get someone to recuse and then have the underling appoint a special investigator. Republicans should not fall for that ploy anymore- even if Comey himself isn't in government right now.

narciso said...

So they lied to epsteins defense team, they were going to disclose, is that in the uncovered emails

Narayanan said...

I'm seeing men and "system" mentioned repeatedly.

Is it fair to say "system" evolve from "modus vivendi" by repeated tweaks!?

Mainly conceived and maintain by men : hence also called patriarchy etc.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Why on earth would Barr need to recuse himself? Because Maddow says so?

Fuck her.

Ken B said...

I question whether he should resign. Is he solely responsible for the deal? If he resigns he will be portrayed that way. And Epstein will through him be linked by the media to Trump and not to other politicians. Maybe he should go, but he shouldn’t go *first*.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

In the meantime, here's some news about another degenerate Democrat:


"Democratic donor Ed Buck, who came under fire after two black men died from crystal meth overdoses in his home within 18 months, now faces additional allegations of human trafficking and revenge porn"

The only network that has devoted any time to the Buck story is, predictably, Fox.

Inga and Howard, of course, don't care about two black men ODing in the home of a rich Dem. They'd rather hyperventilate about E. Jean Carroll (remember that loon? That story went tits up pretty quickly, since the media couldn't hide the fact that Carroll is even battier than Inga) and what Trump said about Epstein 15 years ago.

If they gave one shit about children, they'd appreciate Trump's efforts to stop trafficking at the border. But the suffering of human beings only matters to them if they can use it as a stick to beat Trump with.

Birkel said...

Comey was at SDNY during the period of alleged abuse that led to the 2007-8 plea agreement.
Some of the crimes alleged were in NYC.
Then he transferred to main Justice in DC until 2005.

He was a Mueller guy.
And now young Comey is on an Epstein prosecution.

Seems legit.

Nancy Reyes said...

qccording to the UK Guardian,

Acosta has defended his role in abandoning a more than 50-page federal indictment, saying at a House education and labor committee hearing in May: “This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney general’s office. And not because we weren’t doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/08/jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-charges-court
so who were the higher ups who stopped him?

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

Yep, it's time to villainize the only prosecutor to successfully charge and prosecute Epstein, the flamboyant Democrat, since he now works for Trump.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

AS this unfolds, we are probably going to discover yet again that the leftwing corruption machine is lying.... again.

E Jean - LOL. "Tits up!" LOL

rcocean said...

As others have posted, the Liberal/Left have no morals. Its all "Just win baby". They're pond scum. Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Polanski, etc. They only care when it hurts Republicans. You can throw in the Rape Grooming in England, where the Labour party and the Left-wing press doesn't care about. And of course, who's pushing to lower the age of consent? The D's in the USA, and Labour in the England.

Its too bad so many on the center-right are gullible fools.

narciso said...

No we can't have nice things, if you try to track illegals its tantamount to internment or something.

Yancey Ward said...

Ms. Althouse's advice about Acosta reminds me of the advice to have Kavanaugh withdraw from the SCOTUS nomination. Due process matters to some of us, and I wouldn't dream of canning someone without some solid evidence they deserve it in this case- to do otherwise seems a kind of libel in itself.

Yancey Ward said...

However, Acosta does have to explain how this deal was negotiated- detailed explanations naming the various parties and their inputs to the deal- nothing less will do.

narciso said...

It's a fair point, there was pressure from the top and from epsteins atty which was like an all star team.