Bizarre, Criminal law

Jeffrey Epstein Is Dead, But Questions Remain Very Much Alive

Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Few will likely mourn his passing but some will publicly regret it and others will privately celebrate it. The suicide comes a day after the release of documents implicating an array of powerful figures around the world. Epstein catered to friends from Bill Clinton to Prince Andrew. The timing has already caused some to question whether this was a true suicide or an effort to get rid of a man who was becoming a major threat to major players in politics and business. Close friends have already said that they believe that he was murdered. Given the low likelihood of success for Epstein, 66, in his criminal case and the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail, a suicide attempt was likely. However, that raises the question of how a man who was once on a suicide watch could be allowed the material, let alone the opportunity, for a suicide. It appears that guards broke protocols during the night.

Prison officials say that Epstein was declared dead at 6:30 am. They say the cause was cardiac arrest but reports indicate it was a suicide. Two weeks ago, Epstein was was found nearly unconscious in his cell with injuries to his neck. 

It is the timing that is likely to spur conspiracy theories. Documents released yesterday detail allegations by Virginia Giuffre that she was told to have sex with an assortment of Epstein’s friends, including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell; asset manager Glenn Dubin, modeling executive Jean Luc Brunel, the late MIT scientist Marvin Minsky, Prince Andrew and Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz. The next day, Epstein is dead.

The problem with the conspiracy theories is that Epstein had every reason to want to kill himself. He was looking at life in prison after a grueling legal process. For a man who had played the angles (and powerful friends) to continue to abuse underaged girls, he was out of both options and friends.

Yet, how could such a high suicide risk be allowed the opportunity for a suicide? At a minimum, a suicide would indicate gross negligence by the prison officials in Manhattan. Much like the murder of Whitey Bulgar at Hazelton, the death would only be possible with an utter lack of competence by correctional management and staff.

This is why the death of Epstein will be the birth of an uber conspiracy theory.

229 thoughts on “Jeffrey Epstein Is Dead, But Questions Remain Very Much Alive”

  1. Epstein was killed, no suicide, Trumps personal fixer AG Barr will cover things up and the pictures and video of Trump will just sort of go away.

    For those that will blame Clinton I say no, and that there is no real bad stuff on Bill Clinton or it would have came out in the 2016 election.

    1. Epstein is alive, and it was a double that was actually killed in his place.
      The real Epstein is in hiding with Elvis.
      An alternative theory Cap.Mike might like.

    2. “…or it would have come out in the 2016 election.” Ha ha ha ha. Sure. Ha ha ha ha.

    4. Word is that Bubba liked to be blindfolded and guess which of the girls was “performing” for him. On the plane. On the island. Wherever. There is a lot out there ’bout ol’ Bubba and his preferences.

    5. Don’t forget the Royal Family has a lot to ‘cover up’ as well as the Clintons….

      2. No, they have an accusation lodged against one of their number by someone who is not particularly credible. The Royal Family do not behave like people who have a great deal to cover up. Prince William a notable exception, they’re quite free about employing domestic staff and the staff have not in the past been subject to much vetting. The tabloid press a few years back managed to place a reporter on the staff of Buckingham Palace; he had no trouble passing through all the security screening. The real scandal generators in the Royal Family are the in laws (Lord Snowden, Capt. Mark Phillips, Diana, and Sarah Ferguson). About the worst the Queen’s relatives have done is to have affairs during interludes when they weren’t on speaking terms with an equally adulterous spouse.

  2. Or mayb not suicide. No suicide watch…

    https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/MkKUspg1eBMh8elnlPXSQg~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRfMXyuP0TqaHR0cDovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDE5LzA4LzEwL255cmVnaW9uL2plZmZyZXktZXBzdGVpbi1zdWljaWRlLmh0bWw_ZW1jPWVkaXRfbmFfMjAxOTA4MTAmcmVmPWhlYWRsaW5lJm5sPWJyZWFraW5nLW5ld3M_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NjAmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9MCZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE2MDUxJnVzZXJfaWQ9NWRiNzA1YjIyNDQxNDlhMjY3NDc5ZGE0NzI0NWMzM2QmcmVnaV9pZD02OTQ0MzEwOGluZy1uZXdzVwNueXRCCgAcrvdOXS6EkidSGndoZXJlLmlzLnRoZS5jYXRAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA

  3. There’s another explanation for how this suicide was ‘allowed’ to happen: Aiding and abetting by jail officials to protect their powerful (and slimy) political pals.

    1. Let me count the ways people are deliberately murdered in prison

      starts with the gang leadership green lighting someone

      the gang leadership knows the corrupt guards

      the corrupt guards can get the security bypassed for whomever, however

      ————————
      here this was a high value suspect, in a designated holding cell. the typical jail murder scenario seems unlikely.

      at least as unlikely as him killing himself

      ==============

      I would speculate that covert officialdom had a hand in this. like whatever “men in black” show up with the necessary clearances to order staff to shut down security cams, cooperate, clear logs, etc.

      people who run prisons know very well how security can be bypassed. the right ones know how to do a job like this and cover it up.

      ________________
      what did Alex Costa say? He was an intel asset so he had to clear the rotten plea deal?

      well if he was an asset than he had a handler.

      the handlers are not the shot callers, those are above the handlers.

      the intel shot callers are the ones to look for here.

      SORRY– THAT’S A PARANOID CONSPIRACY THEORY, RIGHT? they were calling it that on NPR today

      remember, NPR is government radio. one hand, many fingers!

  4. They’re hanging me tonight

    Alone within my cell tonight my heart is filled with fear. The only sound within the room is the falling of each tear. I think about the thing I’ve done, I know it wasn’t right.

    I took the life of pretty Flo and that good for nothin’ man, That good for nothin’ man!

    I think about the thing I’ve done, I know it wasn’t right. They’ll bury Flo tomorrow, but they’re hanging me tonight.

  5. This appears to be a murder.
     
    How does an inmate, who previously tried suicide, who is under 24/7 suicide watch in a padded room with no instruments of self harm, manage to commit suicide?
    The latest I have heard was it was another self hanging effort, this time successful.
    He had the goods on many powerful people, and would likely have tossed them all under the bus to save whatever hide he had left.
    The makings of a Grisham novel if I ever saw one.
     
    Now comes the questions of cover-up on how this could happen, and a chain of custody analysis of who had access to him, and who (not) monitoring him.

  6. Penn State, the ‘Sanctuary City for Pedophiles’, has for decades operated a child sex trafficking enterprise, grooming tens of thousands of innocent children for the sexual depravity of well connected politicians, wealthy donors, and high ranking university administrators. Penn State bribed former FBI Director Louis Freeh to whitewash the scandal, and then delivered several young boys to former Democratic Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell for his hideous depravity in exchange for the early release of Pedophile State from NCAA sanctions. Newly unsealed documents revealed George Mitchell’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/08/new-details-in-unsealed-jeffrey-epstein-documents. When will the press investigate the Penn State-Jeffrey Epstein child sex trade connection?

  7. Epstein had every reason to want to kill himself. He was looking at life in prison after a grueling legal process. For a man who had played the angles (and powerful friends) to continue to abuse underaged girls, he was out of both options and friends.

    Disagree most strongly

    Conversion, salvation of one:s soul, a life of penance, etc all worthwhile undertakings. It is stunning you fail to consider these considering you and your wife embrace a life of Faith. These are more than compatible with Judaism and Christianity.

    Many murderers experienced these types of inner purgation, e.g. St Paul the Apostle. Discounting such a metanoia springs from a lack of understanding, poor insight or perhaps willful ignorance of that which has driven some of our greatest writers, thinkers and leaders.

    Epstein’s death is unfortunate. There is hope for us all. Where there is no hope there is no reason to live. This is the true source of America’s malaise.

    1. You Nailed it.
      “The” Answer to the Opiate Hysteria right there.
      No Hope for a Decent Future in Youth.
      Why, answers itself.

      1. brucepoint – if Epstein turned state’s evidence, played Queen for a Day and unloaded on every one and everything, he might get a slap on the wrist again while he spent the rest of his life testifying against former powerful “friends” who are trying to kill him.

        1. https://spectator.us/attend-storm-clinton-estates/
          Mr. Schulte,
          I believe that somewhere in these comments you mentioned your plans to get into the highly-restricted Area 51.
          I don’t know if you’d planned on going at that particular time with the group, but there could be a scheduling conflict if you’re interested in this other event.
          The Area 51 signs warn that deadly force might be used against those who try to venture into the verboten area.
          You can weigh that risk vs. the dangers of pissing off Hillary.
          Good luck and stay safe!

          1. Anonymous – getting in and out of Area 51 is a numbers game. They can’t kill all of us. I have been there before and scouted the fence and the time it takes security to get to the top of the rise. The fence is not much of a barrier, however you are going to want to go in on foot first to take out the first guards. Then you control the road and you can bring the vehicles in.

            I am in AZ, Area 51 is a lot closer than Hillary’s compound. 😉

            1. there are cells inside of government that operate above the law. examples exist in history not just elsewhere but here.

              for this conversation, forget bout CIA and overseas spookery for a minute.

              just think about law enforcement. they use informants and give them “Immunity” from crimes committed and from crimes they will committ. this is not a secret, nor is it a secret that it has been abused.

              these can form ongoing years long “conspiracies” to conduct “investigations” which perhaps may violate more laws than they investigate. one could sometimes even call them a cell in the sense that they have stovepiped operational security and even phony, fake reports going up to the supervisors to blind the authorities to what’s going on below.

              such as whitey bulger and his corrupt FBI boston office handlers

              mass media’s job is to dismiss this as paranoia and “conspiracy theories” even when they are plausible and well informed by facts and evidence.

              to be sure people may think up lots of false scenarios or incorrect explanations. but to presume that every embarassing explanation is per se a fantasy is just clever propaganda

  8. There is an excellent series which shows the incredibly complex web surrounding Epstein. 3 parts are out with the 4th to come:

    https://www.mintpressnews.com/mega-group-maxwells-mossad-spy-story-jeffrey-epstein-scandal/261172/

    The Washington Post says Epstein’s family was told by Jeff that someone had tried to kill him and that he had been in good spirits.

    This is bipartisan and intercontinental abuse of children, one whom was 8 years old. Making it partisan is a good cover up for child rape.

    6. where did he hang the cord? bedsheet, whatever. you need an attachment point. these specific cells like most contemporary new cell designs are intended to be suicide proof. the bars are vertical, without a high cross bar they are not an attachment point, you will just slide down.

      https://nypost.com/2019/08/10/former-mcc-inmate-theres-no-way-jeffrey-epstein-killed-himself/

      I suppose it is possible, but unlikely. I would put 10:1 odds on murdered
      I would put 100:1 odds that the conclusion of investigation will be suicide regardless

      incredible incompetence at best. really it’s hard to imagine a worse case of incompetence except for whitey bulger but that was probably a setup too. seriously.

  10. Strange

    New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) led public calls Saturday demanding answers after disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell due to an apparent suicide.

    Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who sits on the Judiciary Committee, called on the panel’s chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), to prioritize investigating the circumstances around Epstein’s death over other probes being carried out by the committee. “Chairman @RepJerryNadler should prioritize a Judiciary investigation into how Jeffrey Epstein died in federal custody (in Nadler’s own neighborhood!)

    Didn’t Jeff have a cell mate, that convicted cop?

      1. Cindy Bragg – “arkanciding” is a multi-purpose pest control used by the Clintons and their friends. Not available to the public.

  12. This is the wrong group to ask. Does anyone see anything strange about the FBI taking the unusual step of taking over the investigation, the day after public documents started naming names of Epstein’s accomplices? For the record, Democrat or Republican, if they were abusing kids they need to go down. Since former Epstein friend Trump has been named as one of the abusers by one victim, what could go wrong by letting his personal lawyer (William Barr) take over the investigation?

    1. Wm. Barr is not Trump’s personal lawyer, Epstein was never more than a congenial acquaintance of Trump’s, and there’s no indication the two have crossed paths in the last 15 years. Do you ever get tired of lying?

      1. On the organizational chart, Barr works for the people but he apparently didn’t get the memo. Have you and any of the congenial male acquaintances you’ve acquired over your lifetime, thrown a party with the two of you and 28 women? Take all the time you need to reflect. Trump claimed recently he knew him like everyone else in Palm Peach. It’s New York that needs to be looked at, including Trump’s visits to Epstein’s penthouse where one woman claims she was raped by Trump as a 13-year-old. So they fell out 15-years ago? Does that wipe out whatever happened before? Epstein claims he introduced Melania to Trump? Others deny it and the versions of Trump and Melania don’t mention Epstein. Feel free to point out the lies anywhere along the way.

        1. Trump did not enlist Barr to blow up to the credibility of the rape allegation against Trump.
          The alleged “victim”, Lisa Bloom and others had already done a great job of that, albeit unintentionally.
          Again, I don’t see anything in the released documents indicating allegations against Trump.

          1. You’re being very specific. I’ll agree there was nothing in the partial release of documents involving Trump. There is also nothing in the partial release involving Derschowitz, yet we know there are claims about both of them that exist. They are possibly innocent? Their lack of mention in the partial release neither blames them or exonerates them. The alleged “victim” also claimed to have received multiple death threats which could have been a factor.
            My point is, I don’t know the truth but having William Barr snatch the investigation and controlling the release of all information, which may or may not include Trump, is highly suspect, not to mention the suicide and its timing itself.

      1. Allegations against Trump are not in the partial release of documents we’ve seen thus far. There are allegations against Trump made in a lawsuit filed twice and withdrawn twice. A simple Google search will give you details along with Trump quotes about Epstein, their friendship, and Epstein’s penchant for young women.

        1. A cynic might get the idea that Enigma was strongly implying that Trump was amount those accused in the documents.
          If he’s still hanging his hat on that well-covered farce that culmitated with the Bloom fiasco, he has a powerful need to believe.

          1. A cynic would be trying to place the documents which don’t mention Trump as the center of my focus. The “documents” reflect the statements of a limited number of witnesses. They have nothing to do with the point I’m making.
            Epstein allegedly had multiple records, photographs, and videos. Beyond the reported pictures of young girls, I have no idea what else is available. William Barr in a matter of hours taking control of the investigation is highly suspicious.

            1. Not sure why there’s an interest in “the documents which don’t mention Trump”.
              Your original comment left the impression that allegations against Trump were in the released documents.
              Now that that is clarified, you are now interested in documents that DON’T mention Trump?!?

              1. You keep trying to make my question about what you want it to be about. I am interested in everyone who participated with Epstein in raping young girls being exposed and facing justice. My concern is that William Barr, already established as being ready and willing to control information in the interest of the President, has taken control of an investigation normally outside his purview.
                The documents you keep harping on may be eventually relevant but that has yet to be determined. The timing of the suicide and the document release may only be coincidental, or…
                As an aside, it’s interesting to watch the various networks cover the suicide. CNN seems to keep trying to suggest the possibility of “something more nefarious” than suicide. I need just a bit more evidence than what is available to make that quantam leap yet I’d readily believe someone at the Bureau of Prisons helped create conditions which would allow Epstein to kill himself, after only recently being on suicide watch. Still, I need more information to draw even that conclusion.
                As for Trump, do I believe he would see anything wrong with accepting an offering of a young girl for sex? Do I think he would consider such an encounter rape? Does he think if you’re a celebrity you can do anything? From what I can observe of his character, past actions and words. In the famous words of Sarah Palin, “You Betcha!”

                1. enigma – please explain how it is outside Barr’s purview to deal with a federal RICO case?

                  1. Paul- I wasn’t talking about the RICO case although I am concerned. I’m talking about Barr’s takeover of the Epstein suicide investigation. The Bureau of Prisons has it’s own Inspector General and the means to conduct its own investigation. It has the knowledge of procedures and is less influenced by the political appointees that run the FBI.
                    By taking the investigation of the suicide away from the Bureau of Prisons. Barr has essentially taken control of all information related to Epstein with the exception of the civil suits which frankly have produced the only real information that’s been released. Barr can now tell us what we need to know (and don’t) as fits his version of the facts as he’s shown a penchant to do.

                    1. enigma – my current understanding of the situation is that Barr is p**sed about Epstein’s death. An IG report has been demanded and the FBI is investigating. Yes, the criminal cases are over for Epstein’s victims and that is a crying shame. However, they still have recourse against his estate.

                      Yesterday’s data dump named names which open some new areas of criminal inquiry.

                    2. Whatever Barr says carries nowhere near the weight as what he does. What I expect from him now is to block information as opposed to revealing it. His duty is to protect the President as he sees it.

                    3. enigma – here are the parameters of the Attorney General.

                      As head of the Department of Justice and chief legal counsel to the president, the duties of the attorney general are obviously important and wide reaching. The attorney general prosecutes cases that involve the government and gives advice to the president and heads of the executive departments when needed.
                      What Does an Attorney General Do? | HowStuffWorks
                      https://people.howstuffworks.com/government/local-politics/attorney-general1.htm

                      You will notice that “protect the President” is not one of his duties.

                    4. Paul – Yet protecting the President is precisely what he’s been doing. He has basically taken the stance that Congress isn’t allowed to do oversight of the Executive Branch. People don’t have to comply with subpoenas or provide requested documents. That sounds very much like protecting the President to me.

                    5. enigma – examples. The DoJ under Obama refused to convict Holder for contempt of Congress. Hmmmm??????? Lead. and we shall but follow. Every dept of the government has refused to give documents to the Republicans. Hmmmmm????????

                    6. Every department of the government may have disagreed with how much they have to comply and what is covered by Executive Privilege for example. No department has ever said we aren’t going to provide any documents, supply any requested witnesses, and say that everything that occurs within the Executive Branch whether it involves the President or not or how many people were in the room is privileged.

                    7. Bureau of Prisons is either complicit or incredibly, historically incompetent to lose this prisoner.

                      It is absolutely not surprising this was taken over quickly. one would expect that.

                      the rest of it stinks

                2. I wanted clarification of your initial comment, in which you strongly implied that Trump was among those accused in the release of the documents.
                  Since that was not true, it should not expected to be left unchallenge.
                  You’ve now built alternative theories based on “but what ifs?” There are possibilities at least as unlimited as your imagination, but that those are a far cry from actual evidence.
                  You have that covered,too, by bringing in what “is not” in the recently released documents or anywhere else.
                  So if there’s actual incriminating evidence against Trump (related to Epstein) you have what you want.
                  And if there is NOT that evidence, you have what you want.
                  I give up.

                    1. enigmainblackcom says:
                      This is the wrong group to ask. Does anyone see anything strange about the FBI taking the unusual step of taking over the investigation, the day after public documents started naming names of Epstein’s accomplices? For the record, Democrat or Republican, if they were abusing kids they need to go down. Since former Epstein friend Trump has been named as one of the abusers by one victim, what could go wrong by letting his personal lawyer (William Barr) take over the investigation?
                      ——————————————————–
                      Yes, in your second and fourth sentences, you did strongly imply that Trump was named in the released documents.

                    2. Anonymous – according to The Beast, Trump was exonerated by the document dump.

                    3. The second sentence has to do with timing, the fourth sentence has to do with a victim not necessarily included in the documents. He definitely has been named by an accuser. How hard is it to see the conflict of interest involved in his Attorney General (he has been quoted as to the loyalty and service he expects from his Attorney General) taking over the investigation.
                      If you see this as all being about the documents, I suggest the problem is yours and not mine.

                    6. enigma – the first judge made the plaintiff pay her own costs, plus if she had a good case she would had no trouble getting Gloria Allred or her daughter to front for her. It appears the 2nd case was dropped as well.

                    7. The first lawsuit she had no representation, how well could it have been done. The second case sfe had a name attorney but she dropped it after receiving death threats. The act of filing a lawsuit doesn’t make Trump guilty. Dismissing the case doesn’t make him innocent. William Barr controlling the information means we’ll never know.

    3. This is the right group to ask. Does anyone see anything strange about the FBI taking the unusual step of taking over the investigation? Yes, very strange indeed!

      1. Point out the lie? Is your assertion that because one raoe victim of hundreds didn’t name Trump, he must be innocent? In that case, I proclaim that none of the commenters on Turley’s blog are partisans so wrapped up in their ideology that they overlook any evidence from any source and instead place all their faith in possibly the biggest public liar of all time. Because I personally know you all and all the actions that have taken place outside my presence. I can make this statement.

        1. no, he’s innocent because he’s not charged and not even a suspect. innocent until proven guilty just like you and me.

    5. Sorry Enigma, that aspect is not strange at all. The charges were federal. Feds often lock up prisoners awaiting federal charges in state jails on contract. they do it out in here in flyover why not NYC. The Feds want to know why their star witness croaked. OF course maybe they know why but they have to go through the motions. LOL

      that is not the strange thing.

  13. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell; asset manager Glenn Dubin, modeling executive Jean Luc Brunel, the late MIT scientist Marvin Minsky, Prince Andrew and Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz.

    At the time, Minsky was 75, Mitchell was 69, and Dershowitz was 64. Not buying.

  14. They’re government employees. A dear friend of mine once employed as the statistician to the department of social services in his area had this to say about public bureaucracies in this country: “there’s a ridge bone of competent people who keep the government running. Then there’s the rest”. If my own experience as a public employee is any guide, if 100 people are employed at the detention center housing him, the bulk of the work will be done by 40 of them, of whom maybe 15 will be people with problem-solving ability. It would not surprise me in the least to discover the guard who was supposed to be doing the checks skipped them or did a half-assed job because it cut into his time with his smart phone or his sudoku book.

    1. As a former government employee, I agree. As an engineering division manager, I fended off hordes of incompetent bureaucrats.

      1. I wish former government employees would contact a Republican about the wasted $$$ paid to incompetent workers. One problem is the difficulty to fire anyone. I keep recommending a buyout program. Two years salary if you accept with retirement $$$ starting on your current retirement date. You lose some good people, but you’ll get more underperforming employees especially if management encourages them and mentions there are no more upgrades for him. Forcing retirement when requirements are met instead of staying longer. As you evaluate who to move the retiree’s workload to, you might find the position unnecessary. Corporations have done this. Meet with them for statistics on how many left and how to get people to take it. Employees already eligible for retirement should get a retirement bonus, not the two-year pay program, and retire.

  16. A few years ago a man was in the local jail accused of murdering a police officer. He was found dead in his cell the next morning, the result of manual strangulation. The police determined it was suicide, that he somehow strangled himself. Coincidently, the security camera monitoring his cell had been unplugged….

    1. they commit suicide a lot and they also get murdered a lot. fake suicide and fake heart attack are two preferred means of coverup

  17. How long will it be before Adam Schiff says he has evidence that Trump arranged a hit?

    1. Jerry Nadler is likely drawing up articles of impeachment at this very moment. hahaha.

  18. Science tells me that people who have dirt on the Clintons are 863 times more likely to commit suicide than anyone else . . .

  19. There is all sorts of conflicting information coming out. CNN originally reported he was taken to the hospital at 3:30 a.m. Time has now changed. The pictures are contradictory. He was and was not on suicide (potential murdercide) watch? The FBI is investigating.

    There should be video footage and that hospital, along with the medics, all have a name, as do the guards of other prison employees.

    The FBI is going to have to arrest just about everyone for preventive detention due to being a “conspiracy theorist”.

    I feel very sorry for Epstein’s victims but the criminal case for others who abused them is not over.

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