Update2: It's been a day since the sudden, yet somehow unsurprising news of millionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's apparent 'suicide' in a Manhattan jail cell after reportedly being taken off suicide watch, and people are demanding to know exactly how this happened amid conflicting reports.

According to the New York Post, "Epstein had inexplicably been taken off suicide watch despite an incident three weeks ago when he was found sprawled on the floor of his cell, nearly unconscious, and with injuries to his neck," adding "He was being housed in the jail’s high-security Special Housing Unit, in which high-profile or dangerous detainees are kept separate from the general population."

At MCC, two jail guards are required to make separate checks on all prisoners every 30 minutes — but overnight, that procedure was not followed, a source told Reuters. Prisoners on suicide watch get checked every 15 minutes. Former US Attorney Preet Bharara tweeted that he was “dumbfounded” by Epstein’s death. “There should be — and almost certainly is — video of Epstein’s suicide at MCC,” he said. “One hopes it is complete, conclusive, and secured.” -New York Post

There should be — and almost certainly is — video of Epstein’s suicide at MCC. One hopes it is complete, conclusive, and secured. — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) August 10, 2019

As we noted on Saturday, Attorney General William Barr is appalled by Epstein's death - ordering the DOJ's Inspector General to investigate.

Epstein's death comes less than a day after the release of a trove of documents naming high-profile individuals named in a 2015 lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Epstein's 'Madam' - Ghislaine Maxwell, who says Maxwell helped Epstein traffic herself and other underage girls to sex parties at the billionaire pedophile's many residences.

Guiffre claims in the filing that she was forced to sleep with several high-profile individuals, including Britain's Prince Andrew, former Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME), Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, longtime MIT professor Marvin Minsky, and investment banker Glenn Dubin. All have denied the accusations.

"Heads must roll," said Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a blistering Saturday letter to AG Barr. "Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him ," Sasse added.

There’s no question Epstein should have been under continual watch, said Cameron Lindsay, a former warden who ran three federal jails and who called the death a “shocking failure.” “Unequivocally, he should have been on active suicide watch and therefore under direct and constant supervision,” Lindsay said. “It’s embarrassing,” one federal law-enforcement source told The Post of Epstein. “This is the highest-profile inmate in that facility, and considering that he may have attempted suicide two weeks ago — how could they let this happen?” Mayor de Blasio tweeted, “Some of wealthiest people in the world committed a horrible crime. If they think for a second that they got away with it because Jeffrey Epstein is dead, they’re dead WRONG.” -New York Post

And now we wait for the official story...

Update: The FBI is opening an investigation into Epstein's death according to media reports.

Media reports say @FBI opening an investigation to determine whether proper procedures for the safety of prisoners were in place overnight at the jail. — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 10, 2019

And according to NBC News correspondent Tom Winter, Epstein was not on suicide watch when he was found in his cell.

"He was, however, housed in his own cell without other inmates."

NBC News: Jeffrey Epstein was not currently on suicide watch when he was found in his cell this morning.



He was, however, housed in his own cell without other inmates.



Reported by @jonathan4ny and @anblanx — Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) August 10, 2019

Additionally, Robby Starbuck reports that: "At MCC, two jail guards are required to make separate checks on all prisoners every 30 minutes, but that procedure was not followed overnight, according to the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record." Does this sound like a suicide to you?

The SDNY can charge Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirators - Ghislaine Maxwell, etc.



This leaves a big question moving forward:



Does the DOJ let the case die with Epstein? — Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 10, 2019

According to the Washington Post's Carol Leonning, "People close to Epstein fear he was murdered...as Epstein told authorities someone tried to kill him in a previous incident weeks earlier. He was described as being in good spirits in recent days..."

***

Jeffrey Epstein has died after having reportedly committed suicide in his jail cell, according to multiple news reports, after a gurney carriny what is believed to be Epstein was seen wheeled out of the Manhattan Correctional Center around 7:30 a.m., according to the New York Post.

POST EXCLUSIVE: Photos show Jeffrey Epstein as he’s wheeled into Downtown Hospitalhttps://t.co/uAAoHJTSKf pic.twitter.com/vJqz7p25VR — Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) August 10, 2019

The 66-year-old Epstein was was previously placed on suicide watch after he was found "nearly unconscious" inside his cell with 'marks on his neck,' according to a Post report from late July. Investigators questioned former Orange County police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, suspected of killing four men in a cocaine distribution conspiracy, in connection with the incident. The former cop claimed to have not seen anything nor touched Epstein.

Needless to say, today's news is highly suspicious.

As the Wall Street Journal's Ted Mann notes, "Even the time of day in this story is shocking. The first check-in on a prisoner who had already attempted suicide once was not until 7:30 a.m.?"

So Epstein failed to commit suicide the first time, is then placed specifically on suicide watch, THEN successfully commits suicide.



Right. Got it. — Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) August 10, 2019

Guess the guards just happened to be looking away from the cctv for an hour or so pic.twitter.com/KjTyMvMTVV — Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) August 10, 2019

The apparent suicide comes just hours after a massive trove of documents was unsealed in a case linked to Epstein, in which one of his victims said she was forced to perform sex acts with high profile individuals, including former Maine Sen. George Mitchell (D), former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), money manager Glenn Dubin and MIT professor Marvin Minsky.

Virginia Giuffre, now an adult, says she was also sent to modeling executive Jean Luc Brunel and the late MIT scientist Marvin Minsky, according to parts of a 2016 deposition she gave. The testimony by Giuffre, who claims she was a “sex slave” for Epstein from 2000 to 2002, expands on her previous allegations, in court filings and tabloids, that she was forced to have sex with the U.K.’s Prince Andrew and Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz. Both men have strenuously denied those allegations. -Bloomberg

He was arrested on July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on charges of sex-trafficking minors and subsequently denied bail.

This is the most suspicious prison death since Lee Harvey Oswald. — neontaster (@neontaster) August 10, 2019

Jeffrey Epstein’s victims deserved to see him found guilty in a court of law & deserved for his case to be used as leverage to get justice against other powerful abusers who worked with him to sexually assault minors.



His case should’ve required supervision 24/7. Prison failed. — Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 10, 2019

Meanwhile, Epstein's personal pilots had been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan last month, which could be used to corroborate accounts from Epstein's accusers, as well as his travels and associates.

A conveniently timed sale

While prosecutors claimed that Epstein owns two private jets, the registered sex offender's attorneys said in a court filing earlier this month that he owns one private jet, and "sold the other jet in June 2019." Considering that he was arrested after returning from Paris in his Gulfstream G550, per Bloomberg, it suggests that Epstein sold his infamous and evidence-rich Boeing 272-200 known as the "Lolita Express" weeks before his arrest.

According to flight logs, former President Bill Clinton flew on the "Lolita Express" a total of 27 times. "Many of those times Clinton had his Secret Service with him and many times he did not," according to investigative journalist Conchita Sarnoff - who first revealed the former president's extensive flights on Epstein's "lolita express" in a 2010 Daily Beast exposé.

Clinton claimed in a July statement that he only took "a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein's airplane" in 2002 and 2003, and that Secret Service accompanied him at all times - which Sarnoff told Fox News was a total lie.

"I know from the pilot logs and these are pilot logs that you know were written by different pilots and at different times that Clinton went, he was a guest of Epstein's 27 times," said Sarnoff.

"It would not be surprising to find that some of these flight logs…were likely designed to hide evidence of criminal activity—or perhaps later cleansed of such evidence," wrote the lawyers for some of Epstein's accusers in a 2015 court filing.

Investigators may be interested in asking Mr. Epstein’s pilots whether they witnessed any efforts by Mr. Epstein to interfere with law enforcement, according to legal experts. In recent court filings, prosecutors have accused Mr. Epstein of tampering with witnesses, an allegation that Mr. Epstein’s lawyers denied in court. Federal prosecutors in Miami and Mr. Epstein’s lawyers in 2007 negotiated over the possibility of Mr. Epstein pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, including for an incident involving one of his pilots, according to emails that became public in civil lawsuits. -Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, prosecutors confirmed in filings that there are "uncharged individuals" in Epstein's case - which has just gone away - or has it?

So if Epstein's stuff implicates anyone else, they are well and truly fucked. https://t.co/7OIqY36YeP — neontaster (@neontaster) August 10, 2019

This is bullshit. #jeffreyepstien was not just a #pedophile he was a #sex #trafficker who trafficked #girls to the #political class of the world and was protected by the same. Is that why his accomplices have not been indicted? The investigations must continue. #justice. — joshua rosner (@JoshRosner) August 10, 2019

There it is. Another “suicide.”

Same sort of thing happened to his supposed madam’s father, Robert Maxwell. Super criminals sure know how to clean up. https://t.co/TwHBKeQmlk — Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) August 10, 2019

And look what's trending:

everything in those cells is ligature resistant so there's no place to even secure something to hang oneself — Water is LIFE (@H_2_Ohhh) August 10, 2019

Just be careful with those assumptions, citizen.