Jeffrey Epstein suicide blamed on jail guard negligence and misconduct: Justice Department watchdog

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s watchdog says “a combination of negligence and misconduct” enabled financier Jeffrey Epstein to take his own life at a federal jail in New York City while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Tuesday cited the federal Bureau of Prisons’ failure to assign Epstein a cellmate after his previous one left and problems with surveillance cameras as factors in Epstein’s death. Horowitz issued a report detailing findings of his investigation into the financier’s August 2019 death, the last of several official inquiries into the matter. Horowitz says there was no indication of foul play, reiterating the findings of other investigations.