Disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a New York prison in 2019, FBI director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino confirmed Sunday, countering conspiracy theories that have lingered since Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who’s been in that prison system, who’s been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who’s been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that’s what that was,” Patel told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” adding that those who believe something nefarious happened “have a right to their opinion.”
“I have seen the whole file. He killed himself,” Bongino added in their joint interview at the FBI’s Hoover Building.
Their blunt answers represent a turn in the long-debated Epstein case. The phrase “Epstein didn’t kill himself” became a meme after he died, and Republicans in Congress have fueled speculation through the years.
Multiple members of the Trump administration vowed to provide more insight into the Epstein case and his death after Trump’s return to the White House, as questions have persisted over Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking of minors and who else may have been involved.
President Trump, who knew Epstein, signed an executive order in January directing a review of classified records that are of public interest, including documents related to investigations of Epstein and political assassinations. A bipartisan congressional panel also has been tasked with going over the documents.
Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to release the so-called “Epstein files” of interest, particularly flight logs and any form of “client list” that may exist, though a flashy unveiling of the initial tranche of records fell flat in March.
Epstein, who owned a Caribbean island, private jet and several mansions, frequently hobnobbed with powerful and wealthy individuals, even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation charges. Photos have shown him with Trump, former President Bill Clinton, England’s Prince Andrew and a slew of other celebrities.
Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, his alleged co-conspirator in the sex trafficking scheme, was convicted in 2021 on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. She is currently serving 20 years in prison.
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