U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday warned that Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplices “should not rest easy” just because the accused sex trafficker will never see his day in court.
“Let me assure you that case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein," Barr said during his keynote address Monday at the National Fraternal Order of Police’s biennial conference in New Orleans. “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. Victims deserve justice and will get it.”
Barr’s blistering remarks come after heightened pressure from lawmakers after Epstein, a convicted pedophile, apparently killed himself while detained in a Manhattan jail this past weekend. He was reportedly found Saturday morning in his jail cell at Manhattan Correctional Center in cardiac arrest before being transferred to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Epstein, 66, was being held in MCC on several sex-trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of underage girls over two decades.
“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 Saturday statement. “Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered.”
The next day, Barr announced that he had asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate Epstein’s death. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also launched a probe into his apparent suicide.
Barr added on Monday that he was “angered” by the jail’s “failure” to secure Epstein.
While the disgraced financier was reportedly discovered last month lying semi-conscious in the fetal position in his cell with marks on his neck, he was taken off suicide watch just six days later. As previously reported by The Daily Beast, Epstein was alone in his cell at the time of his death.
Later that night, New York City’s chief medical examiner announced that she had finished her autopsy but said the official cause of his death is “pending further information.” Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson added Epstein’s representatives have hired celebrity pathologist Michael Bade to conduct an independent autopsy, and he was allowed to observe the autopsy.
“We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,” Barr said Monday, adding the case is important to him personally. “We will get to the bottom of it, and there will be accountability.”
He added: “Most importantly, this case was important to the victims who had the courage to come forward and deserve the opportunity to confront the accused in the courtroom.”
