U.S. Justice Dept. conducting professional misconduct probe in Epstein case

A U.S. Justice Department office is investigating whether department attorneys committed professional misconduct in a criminal case involving a Florida multimillionaire accused of serial sex crimes, the department said in a letter to a senator released on Wednesday.

The investigation comes after the Miami Herald published a report looking at current Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta's role in negotiating a non-prosecution agreement for multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta was then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by David Alexander)