The House Judiciary Committee on Monday launched a bipartisan investigation into the death of Jeffrey Epstein by apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail.

The big picture: In a letter to the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons, Hugh Hurwitz, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) demanded answers to 23 questions — most of which concern the conditions of the facility Epstein was kept in and the circumstances of his death. Attorney General Bill Barr, who earlier announced that the FBI and the Justice Department's inspector general will also be investigating Epstein's death, said Monday that he was "appalled" by "serious irregularities" at the facility.

"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. Any victims of Mr. Epstein’s actions will forever be denied proper recourse and the scintilla of recompense our justice system can provide in the face of such alleged atrocities; the competency and rigor of our criminal justice system has been marred by this apparent oversight."

— House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and Ranking Member Doug Collins

Read the full letter: