REFILE-U.S. Labor Secretary Acosta defends Epstein plea deal

U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday praised the new case against financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges and defended the role he played as a federal prosecutor in reaching a plea deal with Epstein that has been criticized as too lenient.

"Without the work of our prosecutors, Epstein would have gotten away with" a lesser state charge that would have let him avoid jail time, Acosta told reporters.