Financier Jeffrey Epstein dies by apparent suicide in jail

Source: Politico | August 10, 2019 | Josh Gerstein

Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein has died in an apparent jailhouse suicide in New York City while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges over his alleged abuse of underage girls, officials said Saturday.

Epstein, 66, appeared to have hanged himself in his cell at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in lower Manhattan early Saturday, according to officials.

A photograph published by the New York Post showed an ashen Epstein being wheeled into a nearby hospital emergency room as New York Fire Department parademics carried out CPR.

The New York City Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Epstein’s death. “The cause and manner of death are under investigation,” a spokeswoman said.

Epstein has been at the center of a political firestorm stemming from what critics decried as an overly lenient 2008 plea deal his lawyers struck in Florida to resolve allegations he paid dozens of underage girls for massages that often included sexual activity.

The legal settlement, in which federal prosecutors agreed to forgo federal charges in exchange for Epstein pleading guilty to two state prostitution offenses, resulted in Epstein serving only 13 months in a county jail — much of it on work release at his nearby office during the day.

After federal prosecutors in New York obtained a new indictment of Epstein last month on similar charges, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigned due to ongoing questions about the decade-old plea agreement, which he approved as the U.S. Attorney for south Florida at the time.

The prosecution has been closely watched in political circles because Epstein was friendly in the past with a variety of well-connected and prominent businessmen, academics and politicians, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Trump flew on one of Epstein’s planes at least once, according to flight logs, while Clinton made several trips overseas on Epstein’s aircraft.

Both Trump and Clinton say they broke off all contact with Epstein a decade or more ago.

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  • Discussion
  • Consistent August 10, 2019 at 11:41 am #31158

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 11:43 am #31159

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:01 pm #31161

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:02 pm #31162

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:08 pm #31163

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:10 pm #31164

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:11 pm #31165

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:12 pm #31166

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 12:17 pm #31167

    EVERYDAY August 10, 2019 at 5:33 pm #31177

    Conspiracy theories — they are a-flyin’.

    I was thinking, if the Clintons really did arrange to have all the people killed as conspiracy nuts allege, they would have had to put out some serious money to do so. Honestly, I don’t believe the Clintons have that kind of money. Maybe they did at one time, but why did the missus run for the presidency, write books and the two of them go on their rock star tour not long ago if they weren’t financially strapped? At their respective ages, they should be playing with the grandkids instead of prostituting themselves for cash.

    I guess it’s hard for some to believe that Epstein may have decided he didn’t want to put in serious prison time — and had he been convicted this time, he would not have gotten away with a slap on the wrist — and decided death was preferable.

    ConservativeGranny August 10, 2019 at 5:53 pm #31178

    Maybe. Sex offenders have been known to take the coward’s way out when they are confronted with their crimes but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was a hit either. Some very wealthy and powerful people were clients of his and had a lot to lose. If anyone was ever a target for a hit Epstein was. Knowing that he had tried this a short time ago and was on suicide watch I don’t know how this could of happened and is suspicious.

    EVERYDAY August 10, 2019 at 7:38 pm #31179

    Granny, I read earlier that Epatein might have been taken off a suicide watch. I hope the numerous investigations (3 of them that I know of so far) will shed some light on this matter. Was he on a suicide watch? If so, did someone fail to watch him? If he was removed from a suicide watch, who authorized the removal and why?

    Right now, it seems everything is rumor, conjecture, speculation and a whole lot of vivid imagination. Until and unless any of the investigations provide answers, I’m going to do my best to ignore all these stories and wild theories.

    Consistent August 10, 2019 at 10:47 pm #31186

    Consistent August 12, 2019 at 12:02 am #31199

    Consistent August 12, 2019 at 11:30 am #31209

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