Alex Acosta Resigns To Probably Go Make Millions Because There Are No More Consequences

Earlier this week, Donald Trump expressed his confidence in Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. This declaration mirrored his expressions of confidence in FBI Director James Comey or attorney Marc Kasowitz and ended the same way: with Acosta tossed to the curb. The embattled cabinet official resigned today after the world finally caught up with the Miami Herald in reporting on Acosta’s handling of billionaire admitted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case.

The dreaded “vote of confidence” doesn’t necessarily exile someone from Trump’s good graces. In Acosta’s case, he was given an opportunity to appear before the press and put on the sort of combative, no apologies performance that salvaged Slimy McBrewsky’s Supreme Court nomination. But (unlike Alan Dershowitz, another other public figure locked into Epstein’s downfall), Acosta royally bombed his opportunity to impress Trump. Minutes after his press conference, we predicted, “If this was his pitch, expect to see him gone within the week.”

And now he is.

With this, the administration’s brutal labor policy isn’t going to change. Some unconfirmed “acting Secretary” will take over and continue the assault on workers. At this point, it’s not likely that Trump would even try to nominate someone and invite a Senate hearing that might cast some light on administration policy. Opacity is part of the strategy at this point.

And with a mounting scandal that toppled a federal cabinet job, Acosta isn’t likely to feel much of a pinch either. While the SDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office is pursuing the Epstein case through the Public Corruption Unit — a move that could signal pending charges against Acosta — let’s embrace the cynicism and assume that assignment was more an effort to shield the case from being quietly killed and will ultimately pass on trying to charge a former federal prosecutor.

So what happens to Acosta? A double Harvard grad who clerked for Sam Alito, worked for Kirkland & Ellis, taught classes at ostensible law school George Mason, led a law school, and served on the NLRB, as a U.S. Attorney, and, obviously, a cabinet secretary isn’t going to stay unemployed for long. Someone is going to wait 10 minutes for this hubbub to die down and then hand Acosta a few million to hop on the letterhead and bolster their “star” partnership ranks. Whether it’s a return trip to Kirkland & Ellis or a jump to unapologetic Trump firm Jones Day, it doesn’t really matter.

Alex Acosta is, pending prosecution, is going to get a raise out of all this deal. There’s just a point where failure, even the sort of gross failure that spurs a federal judge to call out your serious “material omissions,” don’t lead to any consequences. Some people just get to fail upward. That’s where we are.

Let’s check in on Acosta next year… he’s probably going to be doing just fine.

Earlier: Alex Acosta Just Delivered A Dumpster Fire Of A Press Conference Alan Dershowitz Says He Thinks He Should’ve Gotten Epstein A BETTER Deal In Wild Doubling-Down Interview

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Source: Abovethelaw.com

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