Lemon asked. Acosta’s decision to resign comes as he has also been personally distraught over the recent damage to his reputation, the people familiar with his thinking said. “Acosta has abused his public trust and should never have been appointed in the first place.”One of the firm’s largest clients was the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States territory in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam, exempted from American immigration and minimum wage laws. But only a year later in 2019, Alex Acosta stepped away from his position due to heavy scrutiny for his role in the Epstein case. Acosta said he wanted to help Mr. Epstein’s victims. “I have to imagine, Wolf, that there are White House officials behind the scenes who are just tearing their hair out, you know, when they heard the president say that.
Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid Epstein plea deal scandal – live Edward Helmore in New York and agencies Fri 12 Jul 2019 10.01 EDT Last modified on … Some White House officials thought he was making decisions at the Labor Department with that future in mind, trying not to alienate Senate Democrats whose support he would need in a confirmation hearing.“This was him, not me,” the president said of Mr. Acosta’s decision to resign, adding that Mr. Acosta has been a “great, great secretary” and a “tremendous talent,” and noting that “he went to Harvard, a great student.”“Alex called me this morning and he wanted to see me, and I actually said, ‘Well, we have the press right out here. On CNN Tuesday, chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta broke down the implications of President Donald Trump’s comments that he wishes Jeffrey Epstein… “And that’s what the prosecutors of my office did — they insisted that he go to jail and put the world on notice that he was and is a sexual predator,” he said.The president repeated on Friday that he cut ties with Mr. Epstein years ago after a falling-out.She said her clients were struggling with memories of the sexual abuse, prompted by news of the new charges, “but also hopeful that accountability may really, finally, at last be possible.”The president had initially told people that he thought that Mr. Acosta did well in explaining why he had agreed to a plea deal in which Mr. Epstein served 13 months in jail after being accused of sexually abusing dozens of young women and girls.
He was a — he’s a tremendous talent. A great student and in so many ways, I just hate what he’s saying now because we’re going to miss him. But it was his work at a lobbying firm with Jack Abramoff, later a felon, that provoked the most intense opposition during Mr. Pizzella’s confirmation hearings in 2017.“He’s committed to getting key rules like overtime and joint employment done by the end of the year, doing everything humanly possible to achieve those goals,” said Michael Lotito, a lawyer with the management-side firm Littler Mendelson, who has worked with Mr. Pizzella over the years.Mr. Mr. Pizzella was part of a team that worked on behalf of the commonwealth to prevent Congress from altering the terms of its economic deal.“I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years or more,” Mr. Trump said. He went to Harvard.