Facing calls for resignation, Acosta defends Epstein deal

By JILL COLVIN and RICHARD LARDNER
WASHINGTON — Insisting he got the best deal he could at the time, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on Wednesday defended his handling of a sex-trafficking case involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein as Acosta tried to stave off intensifying Democratic calls for his resignation.
“We believe that we proceeded appropriately,” Acosta told reporters at a news conference at Labor Department headquarters, where he retraced steps federal prose