Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska sent a furious letter to Attorney General William Barr following the apparent death by suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, telling the nation’s top law enforcement chief that the Justice Department “failed” in its duty to keep the alleged child sex trafficker alive while in prison and so “heads must roll.”
The Bureau of Prisons released a statement on Saturday stating that the jet-setting financier and sex offender was found “unresponsive in his cell” located in the Special Housing Unit at around 6:30 a.m. following “an apparent suicide.” Officials said lifesaving efforts were immediately undertaken and that Epstein was brought to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. NYC’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner said that they “are investigating the cause of death” and “have an open case.”
Epstein was reportedly found nearly unconscious on his cell floor with marks on his neck back in July, but it had never been officially confirmed by authorities whether it was a true suicide attempt. Epstein was allegedly then placed on suicide watch, but there are multiple reports that he was no longer on suicide watch when he was found dead on Saturday.
The Manhattan Correctional Center did not respond to questions from the Washington Examiner about the circumstances of Epstein’s death and how it was allowed to happen.
“Given Epstein’s previous attempted suicide, he should have been in a padded room under unbroken, 24/7, constant surveillance,” Sasse said.
Barr said shortly after the news of Epstein’s death that he’d consulted with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and that the DOJ watchdog had launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death. This move is in addition to the FBI inquiry already underway.
Neither the Justice Department nor the inspector general’s office immediately responded to the Washington Examiner‘s request for further details.
Sasse was unsparing in his criticism of the DOJ.
“The Department of Justice failed, and today Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators think they might have just gotten one last sweetheart deal,” Sasse wrote. “Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice Headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him.”
Sasse pointed out that Epstein’s death “deprives his victims of the opportunity to confront him in court and to see him held accountable” while making it more difficult to “unravel his ring” and to prosecute the other men who allegedly “raped and exploited these children” too.
And so Sasse said those responsible for letting Epstein die before he faced justice needed to be held accountable.
“It should have been abundantly clear that Epstein would go to any lengths to avoid being held accountable for his crimes, including by killing himself,” Sasse said. “Being responsible for Epstein’s custody and protection, the Department of Justice should not have allowed this to happen.”
Sasse told Barr that DOJ must answer four “urgent” questions for the American people: whether or not Epstein had officially been placed on suicide watch following his previous alleged attempt; whether he was taken off of suicide watch prior to his death and, if so, why; whether the DOJ inspector general would investigate the mishandling of this incident and whether the FBI would look into criminal charges; and whether all of the evidence gathered on Epstein and his co-conspirators is being “immediately secured” so that nothing else “is also squandered.”
The Justice Department said in February, at the insistence of Sasse, that it had launched an internal inquiry into the handling of the Epstein case at the federal level, but the status of that investigation is not known. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced earlier this week that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was launching an investigation into the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to look at every aspect of Epstein’s case in Florida.
Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney for Southern Florida, reached an agreement in 2008 with Epstein’s attorneys in which Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two state-level prostitution solicitation charges. Epstein served just 13 months of an 18-month stint at a Palm Beach County jail where he was allowed out on work release. The agreement was reportedly struck before investigators had finished interviewing all the alleged victims and was kept secret from some of Epstein’s victims. Acosta left his Cabinet position amid increased scrutiny of the sweetheart deal.
The 14-page indictment against Epstein unsealed in July alleged that he sexually exploited dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, among other locations, between 2002 and 2005 and perhaps beyond. Some of the victims were ostensibly as young as 14 at the time the alleged crimes occurred. Epstein allegedly “created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit”and “maintained a steady supply of new victims.” The indictment also listed a number of unnamed employees and assistants who had helped Epstein commit these alleged crimes.
Epstein was arrested at an airport in New Jersey after returning from an overseas trip to Paris in early July. Epstein’s home in New York City was raided by law enforcement as well, and investigators found nude photographs of underage girls, thousands of dollars in cash, dozens of loose diamonds, and a foreign passport from the 1980s with Epstein’s picture and a false name. He was denied bail and was being held in prison until the trial.
“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody,” Barr said in a statement earlier today. “Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered.”
