Newspaper Article - HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022212

Name	Role	Context
Alex Acosta	Labor Secretary / Former U.S. Attorney	Facing calls for resignation over handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal.
Jeffrey Epstein	Multimillionaire sex abuser	Received a controversial plea deal in 2008; accused of abusing dozens of young girls.
Matt Gaetz	U.S. Representative (R-FL)	Defending the prosecutorial discretion used in the Epstein case; warns against 'dangerous precedent' of second-guessi...
Donald Trump	President of the United States	Mentioned as having Gaetz as a key ally.
Kenneth A. Marra	U.S. District Judge	Ruled that prosecutors violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by not informing victims of the plea deal.
Marco Rubio	U.S. Senator (R-FL)	Introduced Acosta at confirmation; now wants an investigation into DOJ decision-making before deciding Acosta's future.
Rick Scott	U.S. Senator (R-FL)	Wants investigation to continue; says facts need to come out.
Donna Shalala	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Only Miami-area Democrat not calling for immediate resignation; signed letter demanding Inspector General review powers.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Signed letter calling for Trump to demand Acosta's resignation.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Signed letter calling for Trump to demand Acosta's resignation.
Lois Frankel	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Signed letter calling for Trump to demand Acosta's resignation.
Ted Deutch	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Signed letter calling for Trump to demand Acosta's resignation.
Alcee Hastings	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Says Acosta should resign; noted he had never seen a plea agreement like Epstein's.
Frederica Wilson	U.S. Representative (D-FL)	Says Acosta should be removed if he doesn't resign.
Mario Diaz-Balart	U.S. Representative (R-FL)	Agrees investigation should continue but Acosta doesn't need to resign yet.
Michael Cohen	Former Trump Lawyer	Target of a tweet by Matt Gaetz regarding extramarital relations.
Mike Pence	Vice President	Featured in secondary article attacking 'socialism' in Democratic platform.

Location	Context
Washington
Palm Beach
South Florida
St. Croix

16 The Virgin Islands Daily News NATION Saturday, March 2, 2019

Dems want Acosta out over Epstein case. GOP seeking investigation. Then there's Matt Gaetz

By ALEX DAUGHERTY
McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Democrats are calling for Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's resignation. Republicans support an internal investigation into Acosta's role in a controversial plea deal for multimillionaire sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein in 2008.

[Image Caption: Matt Gaetz]

But Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of President Donald Trump's biggest defenders in Congress, is taking a different approach.

In an interview with the Miami Herald this week, Gaetz said re-examining Acosta's handling of Epstein's case, which came under increased scrutiny after the Herald's three-part series Perversion of Justice, sets a "dangerous" precedent for prosecutors. A federal judge ruled last week that prosecutors run by Acosta, then the U.S. attorney for South Florida, broke the law when they failed to inform Epstein's underage victims of the plea agreement. The judge gave federal prosecutors 15 days to confer with Epstein's victims and their attorneys to come up with a resolution.

"I don't know what I don't know and certainly if there is ever an indication of misconduct, that has to be thoroughly reviewed, but I think it's a dangerous thing to go back and second-guess decisions that prosecutors have to make in real time," Gaetz said. "I'm deeply troubled by Mr. Epstein's actions, I think that he certainly should have faced a far stiffer consequence than he did, but having tried cases I know that it's hard to go back and sort of second-guess the risk analysis that goes into putting witnesses before a jury and subjecting them to cross-examination."

[Image Caption: Labor Secretary Alex Acosta]

In fact, the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, was careful to say he was not questioning the prosecution's authority to sign a non-prosecution agreement. However, the judge said the U.S. attorney had an obligation to consult with Epstein's victims under the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Acosta's deliberate decision not to do so — at the insistence of Epstein's legal team — violated that law, rendering the outcome illegal, Marra wrote in a 33-page order.

Gaetz's stance is not shared by other South Florida lawmakers, including Republicans.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who introduced Acosta at his confirmation hearing, said he wants to see the results of an investigation into the Justice Department's internal decision-making process about Epstein's plea deal before deciding on Acosta's future.

"We'd love to have an investigation that looks at all that internal deliberation and who knew what about this, how they talk about it, how was this decision ultimately made and what paper trail is there about that decision-making," Rubio said. "Obviously, newspaper reporting is important but so is whatever facts the Justice Department has in its possession."

Sen. Rick Scott, Rubio's fellow Republican, had a similar view, along with Miami Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. Both said Acosta doesn't need to resign at this time, but want the investigation to continue.

"We don't really know all the facts yet so it ought to come out," Scott said. "We need more information."

Six of the seven Democrats in Congress from Miami-Dade and Broward have called on Acosta to resign, the exception being Rep. Donna Shalala.

Shalala was part of a group of Democrats who signed on to a letter last week demanding the passage of a bill that would allow the Department of Justice's Inspector General to review the conduct of attorneys within Justice, a power it does not currently have. Acosta was responsible for negotiating Epstein's agreement when he pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges in state court instead of facing federal charges, even though he was accused of sexually abusing dozens of young girls in his Palm Beach mansion.

Four Democrats, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Rep. Lois Frankel and Rep. Ted Deutch, signed on to a letter calling for Trump to demand Acosta's resignation. Rep. Alcee Hastings also said Acosta should go.

"I would think under the circumstances with such a hot lamp on it, he'd be better served to resign," Hastings said. Hastings, a federal judge who was impeached and removed from office on corruption allegations before successfully running for the House, said he had never seen a plea agreement like Epstein's during his legal career.

Rep. Frederica Wilson went one step further, saying Acosta should be removed from office if he does not resign.

"The ... manner in which he handled the Epstein case clearly demonstrates that he is not the right person to serve as our nation's labor secretary," the Democrat said in a statement. "If he could not stand up against Epstein's white-shoe attorneys, he clearly is not qualified to take on the networks of human traffickers operating in the United States and represent their victims."

Gaetz, the outlier among those interviewed, is important because he is a key Trump ally who frequently speaks with the president. In his second term in Congress after serving in the state House, Gaetz represents the views of the president's most fervent supporters and attracts national attention for his defense of the president's policies and rhetoric.

Gaetz is currently the subject of an inquiry by the Florida Bar after posting a tweet that critics said appeared to be threatening toward former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. The tweet, which was later deleted, implied that Cohen had extramarital relations and was posted the night before the public hearing where Republicans attempted to shred Cohen's credibility as he detailed his illegal activities on behalf of the president.

Gaetz suggested that Acosta's decision to cut a plea deal without the victims knowing could have been a move to protect them.

"I don't know if this was the case in this matter, but as the former criminal justice chairman in Florida, I've seen how a lot of these sexual violence cases, the fragility of witnesses and the willingness of witnesses can be a factor," Gaetz said. "I'm not saying it was here, I'm just saying that in these types of cases it's something that's always on the minds of prosecutors."

Eyeing 2020, White House steps up 'socialism' attack on Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the White House gears up for the 2020 campaign, it's pressing the case that Democrats are rallying behind what it's calling the policies of "socialism."

Trying to portray Democrats as out of step with ordinary Americans, Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the choice in the next election is "between freedom and socialism, between personal responsibility and government dependence."

"The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment America ceases to be America," Pence told the crowd of conservative activists.

Pence also took aim at "Medicare-for-all" and the Green New Deal, policy proposals prominent in the crowded Democratic contest for the presidential nomination.

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Name	Type	Context
The Virgin Islands Daily News
McClatchy Washington Bureau
Miami Herald		Published 'Perversion of Justice' series exposing the Epstein deal.
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Florida Bar		Investigating Matt Gaetz over tweets about Michael Cohen.
Furniture Plus
HH Tire & Battery