Lawmakers sensed "something fishy" going on after a closed-door hearing with Alex Acosta Friday, where the former federal prosecutor and Secretary of Labor was deposed about his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Seventeen years ago, Acosta brokered a controversial plea deal that allowed the disgraced financier to continue preying on girls and women, MSNBC reports.
He met with the House Oversight committee. Afterwards, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) flagged a weirdness in the meeting.
Subramanyam said the ex-prosecutor's attitude was "defiant and very, you know, there's a lack of remorse on his part," he told MSNBC, adding that "Republicans were giving him softballs."
He apparently told lawmakers that he didn't know or remember what happened, and that he did not think the survivors were credible. Subramanyam called the witness's memory "faded" and alleged "there's a clear cover-up happening right now."
"It's really hard to believe he didn't know what was going on," he said.
"He was in charge of the case himself," Subramanyam said, adding that Acosta let Epstein off 17 years ago in a "sweetheart deal."
He reiterated that Epstein and the president were close friends.
"Six years later, he's being nominated for secretary of labor," Subramanyam said.
"We're going to push every single button we can and we're going to go where the facts lead us," Subramanyam said, praising the Epstein survivors who have come forward to share their stories. He also said that Democrats want lawmakers to "follow the money," and that Epstein was using his trafficking ring and personal wealth to conduct business deals.
Acosta "is completely not credible, and he's been clearly involved in the broader cover-up," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said.
Acosta did not take reporter questions heading into the meeting.