WASHINGTON – Sen. Amy Klobuchar is calling on U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to step down over his role in a previous plea deal for accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Since when do underage girl sex traffickers get to go to their office every day while they serve their time?" Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate from Minnesota, tweeted Tuesday morning.
Epstein, a billionaire financier, was indicted in federal court on Monday on sex trafficking charges. The charges are similar to previous charges that Epstein faced in Florida in 2007; as U.S. attorney in Florida at that time, Acosta negotiated a plea deal that gave Epstein 13 months in county jail — and allowed him to work from his office six days a week.
Epstein's alleged victims were not notified of the deal.
"The victims should have had a say," Klobuchar tweeted. She noted that she did not support his nomination as President Donald Trump's Labor secretary: "I didn't vote for former Florida U.S. Attorney Acosta to begin with and he should step down."
The New York indictment accuses Epstein of abusing dozens of underage girls at homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., from 2002 to 2005.
A handful of other prominent Democrats have begun calling for Acosta's resignation over how he handled the case against Epstein, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Klobuchar's campaign said she is the first candidate in the Democratic field to call for Acosta's resignation.
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