Congress House Judiciary leaders press for answers in Epstein death

The leaders of the House Judiciary Committee wrote to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Monday, pushing for answers in the weekend death of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was being held in a New York jail on sex trafficking charges.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chairman, and Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), the ranking member, sent a list of nearly two dozen questions to Hugh Hurwitz, the bureau’s acting director. They pressed for answers on the bureau’s suicide prevention program, conditions of the jail cell and Epstein’s confinement, and asked for the names of those who responsible for monitoring Epstein.


“The apparent suicide of this high-profile and — if allegations are proven to be accurate — particularly reprehensible individual while in the federal government’s custody demonstrates severe miscarriages of or deficiencies in inmate protocol and has allowed the deceased to ultimately evade facing justice,” Nadler and Collins wrote.

Epstein was found dead in his cell early Saturday. He had been placed on suicide watch on July 23 after an apparent attempt, but was taken off less than a week later for unknown reasons.

In their letter, Nadler and Collins said on Monday they agreed with Attorney General William Barr, who said over the weekend that he was “appalled” over Epstein’s death, which he said “raises serious questions that must be answered.”

On Monday morning, Barr told the Fraternal Order of Police’s 64th biennial conference: “There will be accountability. This case will continue on against anyone who is complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy.”