Trump defends Acosta but will look into Epstein plea deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A parade of presidential contenders and other top Democrats demanded today that President Donald Trump's labor secretary quit because he helped craft a secret 2008 plea deal that let a wealthy financier avoid prison after allegations of molesting teenage girls. Trump said he feels badly for Secretary Alexander Acosta but will look "very closely" at the issue.

Acosta and by extension Trump, who appointed him to his Cabinet post, have drawn renewed attention since federal prosecutors in New York unveiled an indictment Monday charging financier Jeffrey Epstein with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in the early 2000s.

The new attention to Acosta's role in the extraordinary plea deal 11 years ago, back when he was a South Florida federal prosecutor, was spreading to Trump. And not merely because he appointed Acosta to head the Labor Department.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump must explain why he made glowing comments about the financier in 2002 to New York Magazine. Trump told the publication that he'd known the now jailed billionaire for 15 years and considered him "a terrific guy" who enjoyed women "on the younger side."

"The president needs to answer for this, and 'I don't recall' is not an acceptable answer in this case, particularly since President Trump appointed Acosta to such a powerful position," Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.

Trump, questioned today, said he feels "very badly" for Acosta because he's been a "very good" secretary of labor. But the president also said repeatedly that the White House would be looking deeper into the issue.

He said he'd had "a falling out" with Epstein and hadn't been in contact for about 15 years.