UPDATE - US labor secretary resigns amid anger over Epstein case

CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta has said he is resigning on Friday after weeks of furor over a plea deal given to billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender.

President Donald Trump made the announcement of Acosta's departure at the White House, saying it was his decision that was made in a phone call to the president Friday morning.

"I said you don't have to do this," Trump said about the resignation.

Acosta has been under fire over the past few weeks after new charges were placed against Epstein alleging he abused dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, and conspired to commit sex trafficking.

Epstein's legal team submitted a bail package proposal on Wednesday which offered up his $77 million mansion and private jet to secure a bond. He is currently in a federal lock-up in Manhattan.

The labor secretary oversaw a favorable plea deal for the billionaire, in which Epstein was formerly let off with a significantly lighter sentence in a secret deal that saw him serve about a year in prison and had him register as a sex offender. He served most of his term in work release.

He was able to get out of a possible life sentence in that case, which involved soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Acosta had, however, defended the plea deal saying that it made Epstein serve in jail as well as made him register as a sex offender.

The House Oversight Committee invited Acosta on Wednesday to testify at a July 23 hearing about the deal.

The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is currently reviewing whether any misconduct occurred in the handling of the earlier case against Epstein.

Acosta officially became Trump's labor secretary in April 2017.