NYT: Trump administration is caught up in the Epstein case.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-trump.html?emc=rss&partner=rss&smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytpolitics

"Mr. Acosta, whom Mr. Trump nominated as labor secretary in 2017, has faced intense scrutiny for his role in Mr. Epstein’s deal to avoid prosecution, which has been widely criticized as shockingly lenient.

A series of investigative stories by The Herald last year revealed that Mr. Acosta was personally involved in the negotiations. He met privately with one of Mr. Epstein’s lawyers, who was also one of Mr. Acosta’s former colleagues.

In subsequent weeks, prosecutors from Mr. Acosta’s office gave Mr. Epstein’s lawyers an unusual amount of control over the terms of the plea deal, The Herald reported.

“Thank you for the commitment you made to me,’’ Mr. Epstein’s lawyer wrote in a letter to Mr. Acosta after their meeting, noting that Mr. Acosta had assured him that he would not contact “any of the identified individuals, potential witnesses or potential civil claimants,” The Herald reported.

Mr. Acosta’s office also agreed to help shield the deal from public scrutiny, according to The Herald. The case’s lead prosecutor, A. Marie Villafaña, wrote to Mr. Epstein’s lawyer at one point: “I can file the charge in district court in Miami which will hopefully cut the press coverage significantly. Do you want to check that out?”

During Mr. Acosta’s Senate confirmation hearing, he defended the deal by noting that Mr. Epstein had been required to register as a sex offender. He also said in 2011 that the plea deal’s results were “better” than risking a trial, which he said had “a reduced likelihood of success.”

The former White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said months ago that the administration was looking into the information about Mr. Acosta detailed by The Herald, although he has remained in his job.

The president’s relationship with Mr. Epstein is less clear.

A lawyer for Mr. Trump has denied that the president and Mr. Epstein had a social relationship, despite Mr. Trump’s comments in 2002 to New York magazine.

One of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, said in court documents that she was recruited to give Mr. Epstein massages while she was working at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida resort. Mr. Epstein has been photographed with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago."