Epstein Attorney Says Press, Prosecutors Have ‘Blood on Their Hands’

Marc Fernich, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s attorneys, blamed prosecutors, judges and the media for Epstein’s death Saturday. In a statement, Fernich took aim at “overzealous prosecutors,” “pandering politicians,” “compliant judges,” and a “hysterical press corps” for the “unthinkable tragedy.” “All these actors appear to bear some responsibility for this calamity,” he wrote, railing against the media for “clamoring to recharge Mr. Epstein with dated crimes for which he’d long since paid his debt to society under an arm’s length plea deal — just because he had the misfortune to be a wealthy man in the #metoo era whose former prosecutor happened to take a job with President Trump.” “All seem to have a share of Mr. Epstein’s blood on their hands,” he wrote. Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center Saturday morning after an apparent suicide. He was being held on federal child sex trafficking charges. Fernich demanded “a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death.” He also stressed that his comments are not representative of Epstein’s defense team, but that of an “outraged citizen and defense lawyer.”