William Barr asks inspector general to open investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's death

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

last updated 14 August 2019

The FBI is investigating the death by suicide of millionaire financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General is expected to follow suit.

Epstein reportedly hanged himself in a Manhattan jail and was found dead on Saturday morning. "Mr. Epstein's death raises serious questions that must be answered," Attorney General William Barr said. He also said he asked his department's Inspector General to open an investigation into what happened.

Epstein was placed on suicide watch on July 23 after he was found unconscious in his cell with marks on his neck, but he was removed from suicide watch less than a week later. The authorities did not immediately explain why. A federal prison official told The New York Times that it would have been extremely difficult for Epstein to harm himself if he was still under watch based on the lengths prisons go to to prevent inmates from attempting to do so.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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