Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting trial for child trafficking and sexual assault, dies in jail from an apparent suicide

Jeffrey Epstein in 2008. New York Times/AP.

Billionare and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting trial for additional child trafficking charges and sexual assault of underage girls, was found dead in his jail cell from an apparent suicide. New York Times. Epstein had been found after an apparent suicide attempt last month and was moved to a suicide watch area, but was returned to solitary confinement after a week. It is unclear why this happened. Epstein's death comes a day after new files were released that accused Epstein of providing underage girls to people like Governor Bill Richardson, Prince Andrew and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. Epstein's death has caused widespread outrage and demands for an investigation into how it was allowed to happen. Attorney General William Barr has ordered the FBI and the inspector general to review the case. 

My Comment:

I could have covered this case this morning but I was in shock and there wasn't much to go on. Unfortunately waiting until this evening doesn't seem to have brought anymore clarity into how Epstein was allowed to die. Very little else seems to be known that we didn't know already.  The largest development was that Epstein wasn't on suicide watch. 

That is fairly unprecedented in itself. When a prisoner attempts suicide in jail that prisoner is usually kept on suicide watch until he either is tried and convicted or released. It's a liability issue and in a high profile case like this it's almost unbelievable that Epstein wasn't under a 24/7 suicide watch. 

Of course it seems everyone in the country thinks that Epstein was murdered. The suspects are obvious, with many of the world's rich and powerful elite were in danger if their links to Epstein were exposed. Bill and Hillary Clinton are the ones most mentioned but they are far from the only potential suspects. Even President Trump appears to think that Epstein was murdered as he has retweeted some people who have made that accusation. 

The timing alone is massively suspicious. Yesterday, new files were released from a defamation lawsuit that accused Epstein of providing an underage girl, Virginia Giuffre, to many very rich and powerful people. To die after that news is very suspicious to say the least. 

I would say that even if Epstein did kill himself there pretty much has to be a conspiracy theory going on here. His death was entirely preventable and I doubt that mere incompetence explains why he was allowed to die. Had he simply been placed in suicide watch he would not have died, so at the very least there needs to be a very close look at the people who made that descion. 

Do I think he was killed? Maybe. At the very least he was allowed to kill himself. I don't think that this was something he could have done himself unless he had help. I sincerely believe that someone outside of Jeffrey Epstein helped in his death, or caused it directly. Mere incompetence, while always a possibility, seems unlikely in this case. Taking a suicidal man out of suicide watch is basically admitting you want him to die. I don't think that's a mistake anyone can really make. 

The big fear now is that Epstein's crimes will be covered up. That's not completely without merit as if Epstein had decided to go state's witness, he could have taken down a lot of people. With him dead, at the very least, he's silenced. He will never testify who else was involved in his crimes and won't play a role in their arrests, trials and convictions. 

However, Epstein's death is going to result in more investigations at the very least. If there was a conspiracy to kill him or allow him to kill himself, I doubt they can get away with it. Given the high profile nature of this case I am guessing someone will talk. 

Further more, it's not like all the evidence against Epstein is gone. There are still troves of testimony, documents and pictures gathered up in this investigation that can be used to prosecute others. There are still plenty of living witnesses to testify and physical evidence to examine. 

Also, the 2nd most important person in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, in terms of crimes committed, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell still lives. She was involved in most of Epstein's schemes and can still be prosecuted or turned into a witness. As long as she lives, the truth can still come out. And if she does die we know that someone is cleaning house... 

I will also say that posting about Epstein on Twitter, Gab and Facebook was one of the rare cases of bipartisan unity I have seen recently. Everyone, regardless of their politics, agreed that the idea that Epstein was probably killed. Eventually peopled started to disagree with each other on who was responsible, with Joe Scarborough infamously blaming the Russians of all people, but it was nice while it lasted. 

I will continue to follow this story as it develops. I sincerely doubt that this is the last time we hear about Jeffrey Epstein. It may take months or even years but I do think that the truth will come out eventually. Sooner or later some form of justice will happen here...