“A man is judged not only by the enemies he makes, but by the company he
keeps”
----from “The Quotations of Chairman
Joe”
“It
is the perverse good fortune of Alexander Acosta, Donald Trump's
secretary of labor, to be part of an administration so spectacularly
corrupt that it's simply impossible to give all its scandals the
attention they deserve.” (1)
These are the words of Michelle Goldberg who asks
incredulously “why does Alex Acosta still have a job?”
“Last
Wednesday,” Goldberg explains,
“the Miami Herald published a blockbuster multi-part expose about
how the justice system failed the victims of Jeffery Epstein, a rich,
politically connected financier who appears to have abused underage
girls on a near-industrial scale. The investigation, more than a year
in the making, described Epstein as running a sort of child
molestation pyramid scheme, in which girls—some in middle
school—would be recruited to give Epstein 'messages' at his Palm
Beach mansion, pressured into sex acts, then coerced into bringing
him yet more girls. The Herald reported that Epstein was also
suspected of trafficking girls from overseas.
“What's
shocking is not just the lurid details and human devastation of his
alleged crimes, but the way he was able to use his money to escape
serious consequences, thanks in part to Acosta, then Miami's top
federal prosecutor. For reasons that are not entirely clear, Acosta
took extraordinary measures to let Epstein—and other unnamed
people—off the hook.
“The
labor secretary, whose purview includes combating human trafficking,
has done nothing so far to rebut the Herald's reporting.” (2)
A
labor department spokesman referred everyone to previous statements
regarding the case.
“As
Herald journalist Julie K. Brown reported, in 2007, Epstein was
facing a federal indictment that could have put him away for the rest
of his life. In a deal with one of Epstein's attorneys, however,
Acosta, a rising star in Republican circles, short-circuited the
federal investigation, letting Epstein plead guilty to two felony
prostitution charges in state court. 'Not only would Epstein server
just 13 months in the county jail, but the deal—called a
non-prosecution agreement—essentially shut down an ongoing F.B.I.
Probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people
who took part in Epstein's sex crimes,' wrote Brown. It was, she
wrote, 'one of the most lenient deals for a serial child sex offender
in history.'” (3)
What's
strange is that Acosta, as Goldberg reports, once served in the
Justice Department, heading the Department of Civil Rights, under
George W. Bush. The question lingers like the stench coming from
this White House on a foggy night: why?
“We
don't know,” writes Goldberg,
“but one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts, told The
Herald that Epstein didn't just abuse her himself, he also 'lent' her
out to other men. She claimed in a 2015 affidavit that she'd had sex
with Prince Andrew of Britain and one of Epstein's attorneys, Alan
Dershowitz, now best known for his public defenses of Trump.
(Dershowitz has said Roberts lied to try to extract money from
wealthy men).
“Had
the federal case gone forward, it could have shed an embarrassing
spotlight on Epstein's many famous associates, including Bill
Clinton, a frequent passenger on Epstein's private plane, nicknamed
the 'Lolita Express'. (4)
Goldberg reports that during the 2016 campaign many
expected tRUMP to bring up Clinton's connection with Epstein, but
tRUMP demurred. “Perhaps, that's because Trump also counted
Epstein as a friend, once describing him as a man who 'likes
beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger
side”, explained Goldberg.
The rot runs deep. Against the blatant corruptions of
the tRUMPs, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, who is accused of
swindling business associates out of 120 million dollars as well as
his shady relationship with a Cypriot bank known for
money-laundering, as well as the further outrages surrounding former
Attorney General Jeff Sessions who held investments in private
prisons even as he changed Obama policy reversing privatization.
Then there's Scott Pruitt who resigned following months of ethics
violations and, let's not forget Tom Price, who resigned as HHS
secretary following gross misuse of public funds. Then there is
Betsy DeVoss waiting her turn before the kleig lights to explain her
investments in private schools while serving as secretary of
education and promoting vouchers and privatization. Against this,
the attempt by housing secretary Ben Carson to pilfer a mere 30,000
or so dollars for a dinette set for his office appears laughable.
But, then, he did what all good evangelicals always do—blame the
woman, in this case his wife.
Disgustus has “drained the swamp” alright—right
into the White House. The question presents itself: Why does our
orange Caesar still have a job?
“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”
Impeach and Imprison.
________________
- Goldberg, Michelle. “Why Does Acosta Still Have a Job?” The New York Times. Tuesday, December 4, 2018. Page A26.
- Ibid
- Ibid
- Ibid
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