After consulting Justice Department ethics officials, Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing the sex-trafficking case of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in New York, according to reports.

A Justice official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Barr is still recused from any review of a 2008 plea deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges in Florida.

“I am recused from that matter because one of the law firms that represented Epstein long ago was a firm I subsequently joined for a period of time,” Barr told reporters in South Carolina on Monday.

That’s because Barr’s former law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, had previously represented the convicted sex offender. The deal Epstein secretly made allowed him to avoid federal prosecution for nearly identical allegations.

Epstein was charged Monday in federal court in Manhattan with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

Barr considered whether he would have to remove himself from involvement in the New York case in part because Epstein had previously hired lawyers from the law firm.

Barr served as counsel to the company before becoming AG.

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta was the top federal prosecutor in southern Florida when he okayed the widely criticized deal under which Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two state charges of soliciting a prostitute.

Epstein served 13 months behind bars in the Sunshine State — but was released during the day to conduct his business.

Some former federal prosecutors have voiced concern that Barr might interfere in the New York case if he didn’t recuse himself.

President Trump, who used to socialize with Epstein, once called him “a terrific guy,” but White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Tuesday that “he hasn’t talked to or had contact with Epstein in years and years and years,” according to Bloomberg News.

Conway also indicated on Tuesday that Acosta still enjoys Trump’s support.

“I would go back to who the perpetrator is here; his name is Jeffrey Epstein,” she said.

Acosta said on Twitter on Tuesday: “The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific, and I am pleased that NY prosecutors are moving forward with a case based on new evidence.”

He added: “With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator.”

“Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice,” he wrote.

During Epstein’s court appearance in Manhattan on Monday, one of his lawyers made it clear he’d use the Florida plea deal as a central part of Epstein’s defense.