The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. December 5, 2018 Congressmembers Call for Labor Sec. Acosta Probe over Epstein Plea Deal ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fifteen congressmembers are calling for a probe into Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta after an explosive report by the Miami Herald detailed his role in getting billionaire serial sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein a plea deal in 2008 when Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Florida. The deal allowed Epstein to avoid a federal trial and possible life in prison, and effectively ended an FBI probe into the case, which alleged Epstein sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls. Epstein settled a defamation lawsuit against the lawyer of some of his accusers today, avoiding testimonies from survivors who were expected to take the stand in the coming days. A separate case to overturn the original 2008 plea deal is still pending. .