Attorney General William Barr said he believes Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell earlier this month.
“I have seen nothing that undercuts the finding of the medical examiner that this was a suicide,” Barr told reporters in Dallas on Wednesday. Barr also said his investigation is moving “expeditiously” and expects to report his findings soon to both Congress and the public.
The New York City medical examiner’s office officially ruled Epstein’s death a suicide on Friday following an autopsy. Epstein, an accused child sex trafficker, appeared to have tied a bedsheet to the top of a bunk bed and then moved toward the floor with enough force to break a bone in his neck.
Many questions remain about why Epstein was taken off suicide watch despite reportedly being found nearly unconscious on his cell floor with marks on his neck on July 23. Media reports said Epstein’s hyoid bone had been broken, which led some to suggest a homicidal strangulation rather than a suicide.
Last week, Barr said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s apparent suicide and revealed the DOJ was “learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.” Barr also said there will be accountability for those who did not do their jobs properly. He ordered the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate both the incident in July and Epstein’s Aug. 10 death.
Barr announced the appointment of a new director for the Bureau of Prisons on Monday after numerous problems at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was awaiting a trial, were revealed in the wake of the multimillionaire’s death.
