Whoa.

The New York Times is reporting that the two guards who were supposed to check on Jeffrey Epstein every 30 minutes were actually asleep for 3 hours and then “falsified records” to cover it up:

BREAKING: The two guards who were allegedly responsible for monitoring Jeffrey Epstein when he committed suicide reportedly "fell asleep" and "then falsified records to cover up their mistake" https://t.co/g4yFx4e7IO

From the NYT:

The two staff members in the special housing unit where Mr. Epstein was held — 9 South — falsely recorded in a log that they had checked on the financier, who was facing sex trafficking charges, every 30 minutes, as was required, two of the officials said. Such false entries in an official log could constitute a federal crime.

In fact, the two people guarding Mr. Epstein had been asleep for some or all of the three hours, three of the officials said.

The attorney general, William P. Barr, on Monday ordered the Justice Department’s inspector general to look into how Mr. Epstein had managed to commit suicide while in custody and why he had been taken off a suicide watch 12 days earlier.

“We will get to the bottom of what happened,” Mr. Barr said.