For those who remain suspicious about the timing of the suicide of disgraced financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, news yesterday from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York legitimately magnified those concerns. In a breathtaking statement, the MCC announced that a “clerical error” led to the destruction of the surveillance footage taken from outside Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on the day that he first attempted suicide attempt. The tape was permanently deleted due to confusion with another tier. The levels of sheer incompetence, negligence, and stupidity required for such an act is almost beyond belief.
Epstein was found semiconscious in his cell at the MCC around 1:27 a.m. on July 23. However, despite worldwide attention and numerous expected investigations, MCC officials announced that the MCC “inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier within the MCC and as a result, video from outside the defendant’s cell on July 22-23, 2019 no longer exists.” Worse yet, it was the FBI that realized that the video given to investigators was the wrong tier.
This adds to recently disclosed evidence that have led some to challenge the conclusion of suicide including autopsy reports and new photographs. There are also falsification of logs and evidence.
While Hillary Clinton and others have laughed about the conspiracy theories, the destruction of the tape will now guarantee that conspiracy theories will never die. For many, Epstein’s death seemed too convenient given the long list of powerful people who could be embarrassed by his trial.
I have long criticized the disgraceful sweetheart deal given to Epstein. The deal was struck by Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta and not only succeeded in protecting Epstein from serous jail time but protecting a host of high-profile friends including Bill Clinton who were regulars at his infamous island resort.
Epstein was notorious for his infamous “Lolita Express” where he took friends like Bill Clinton by plane to his private estate on the Caribbean island of Little Saint James with young girls who allegedly were used as prostitutes.
Despite a strong case for prosecution, Epstein’s lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, were able to secure a ridiculous deal with prosecutors. He was accused of abusing more than forty minor girls (with many between the ages of 13 and 17). Sasse is correct, the handling of the case is a disgrace but it is unlikely to result in any real punishment. Certainly not for Epstein who pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence. Moreover, to my lasting surprise, the Senate approved the man who cut that disgraceful deal, former Miami U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta, as labor secretary. The Senate did not seem to care that Acosta betrayed these victims and protected a serial abuser. In other words, everyone was protected–the powerful Johns, Epstein, the prosecutors–just not the victims who were never consulted before Epstein got his sweetheart deal.
After the deal, it was alleged that not only did Clinton take the “Lolita Express” more than previously stated but that he notably told his Secret Service details not to come on the trips to what some called “Orgy Island.” Clinton was not the only fan of Epstein. President Donald Trump referred to him as a “terrific guy” in 2002, saying that “he’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Suicide still remains the most obvious answer to the questions surrounding Epstein’s death, but the level of falsification and destruction of evidence will magnify the already mounting questions over his death.