2020 presidential long shot Bill de Blasio speculated about the death of alleged child sexual predator and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday.
Epstein, 66, died last weekend from an apparent suicide after being found unconscious in his prison cell. The alleged predator had relationships with many influential individuals, including former President Bill Clinton and President Trump. Those relationships were called into question as Epstein awaited trial.
De Blasio questioned Epstein’s death during a Tuesday evening appearance on Fox Business’ Bulls & Bears.
“This is way too convenient,” he said. “This makes no sense. He’s one of the most prominent prisoners in America, at that point. He had either attempted suicide previously or been assaulted. Either way, it is the same reality. He needed to be watched 24 hours a day. It’s one of the premier federal facilities in the country. It belongs to the Justice Department. This is — come on, how on Earth do they miss this?”
Fox Business’ Kristina Partsinevelos then questioned him about the implication he was making.
“I have been saying all week, I’m not a conspiracy theorist by nature,” de Blasio answered. “It means that sometimes you see a series of events that you cannot give a normal explanation for. And there needs to be a full investigation.”
David Asman later asked him if one of the prominent people Epstein was associated with could’ve “had something to do with his death.”
“I’m going to say it a little more simply from my point of view,” de Blasio responded. “The one thing I do not think is possible here is just pure traditional human error, that just some guard fell asleep or someone didn’t cover their shift. That’s the one thing I would rule out given the prominence of the case and the nature of the situation, which means something else happened. I don’t know what that something else is, but as sure as hell it needs to be investigated.”
Despite the New York City’s mayor’s insinuation, the New York Times reported Tuesday that two staff members in Epstein’s unit were asleep for some or all of the three hours they failed to check on him. The officers then falsified reporters to cover the lapse.
