On Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers grilled Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta Wednesday over his role in securing a plea deal for billionaire serial sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein that allowed Epstein to avoid a federal trial and possible life in prison. In February, federal Judge Kenneth Marra ruled Acosta broke the law in 2008 while working as a federal prosecutor, after he concealed the plea agreement in violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. Acosta’s move effectively ended an FBI probe into the case alleging Epstein sexually abused and trafficked more than 30 underage girls.

Secretary Acosta was called before a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, where he was confronted by Congressmember Katherine Clark and other Democrats. Clark noted that under federal sentencing guidelines, Epstein should have faced a minimum prison sentence of 360 years.

Rep. Katherine Clark: “But that’s not what happened, because there was a power dynamic here, wasn’t there? We had teenage girls, with no power, who were rape and sexual assault victims. And we had Mr. Epstein and his friends, extremely powerful, wealthy and connected people. And in a ruling on February 21st of 2019, Judge Marra found you illegally entered a non-prosecution agreement that allowed Mr. Epstein to serve just 13 months in county jail.”

Jeffrey Epstein was known to socialize with many prominent figures, including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.