By Gabby Orr, 08\/10\/2019<\/p>\n
Political leaders are demanding a full accounting of how disgraced financier and accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail early Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need answers. Lots of them,\u201d Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote on Twitter, expressing concern in a separate retweet about the impact of Epstein\u2019s death on the pending criminal case against him and on his alleged victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe death of Jeffrey Epstein does not end the need for justice for his victims or the right of the public to know why a prolific child molester got a slap on the wrist instead of a long prison sentence,\u201d said Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, whose Florida district is home to the oceanfront Palm Beach mansion where Epstein is said to have sexually abused dozens of underage girls.<\/p>\n
Frankel encouraged the House Oversight Committee to \u201cbegin its investigation immediately\u201d into a 2008 plea agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal sex trafficking charges. The deal was overseen by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who served as Labor secretary for the Trump administration until his resignation last month.<\/p>\n
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a member of the Oversight Committee, said the congressional panel \u201chas a duty to ensure all those who played a role in this travesty of justice answer to those crimes.\u201d Speier tore into law enforcement officials, prosecutors and acquaintances of Epstein \u201cwho looked the other way\u201d or enabled him to \u201cevade accountability because he was rich, powerful, and well-connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis whole country is based on the notion that we\u2019re all created equal and that we should all be treated equally under the law, and that clearly isn\u2019t happening,\u201d former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said in a Fox News segment about Epstein\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to look far to find places where those who are successful and wealthy and powerful, they get a better deal when they get in trouble,\u201d Hickenlooper added.<\/p>\n
Epstein, 66, pleaded not guilty last month to new charges of sex trafficking and faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted. In late July, he was found unresponsive in his jail in what appeared to be a suicide attempt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is inexcusable that this rapist was not under constant suicide watch,\u201d said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), adding that the government has \u201cfailed\u201d Epstein\u2019s victims, who \u201cdeserved to face their serial abuser in court.\u201d It is unclear whether Epstein was placed on suicide watch in July, though the correctional facility where Epstein was located said in a statement Saturday that he had been staying in a \u201cSpecial Housing Unit\u201d at the time of his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI is investigating the incident,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney General William Barr also announced the opening of an investigation into Epstein\u2019s death by the Justice Department\u2019s Inspector General, saying he was \u201cappalled\u201d to learn of the development.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Epstein\u2019s death raises serious questions that must be answered,\u201d Barr said in a statement.<\/p>\n
New York City Mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Bill de Blasio, whose office works closely with a commission that oversees the state\u2019s jail system, appeared to support the Justice Department investigation into Epstein\u2019s death. De Blasio warned others who may have been involved in Epstein\u2019s alleged sex trafficking operation that they will be brought to justice, despite how his death may affect related criminal proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeffrey Epstein may have escaped his day in court, but if the wealthy predators involved in his sex ring think they just got away with it, they\u2019re WRONG,\u201d de Blasio tweeted. \u201cWhile a full investigation into how the federal government let this happen needs to be launched IMMEDIATELY, we won\u2019t stop fighting for justice for every single victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
Epstein\u2019s decades-long connections to wealthy and powerful figures in the U.S. and abroad \u2014 including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew \u2014 prompted a slew of conspiracy theories to emerge Saturday.<\/p>\n
Lynne Patton, a senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, posted a photo of Epstein to her personal Instagram with the caption, \u201cHillary\u2019d!! P.S. Let me know when I\u2019m supposed to feel badly about this. #VinceFosterPartTwo.\u201d Foster, who served as White House counsel, became the subject of many Clinton-era conspiracies after he committed suicide in July 1993.<\/p>\n
A HUD spokesperson could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
CNN commentator Ana Navarro described<\/a> Epstein\u2019s death as \u201cconvenient\u2026 for the many rich and powerful,\u201d while MSNBC host Joe Scarborough suggested<\/a> that \u201cpowerful Democratic and Republican figures [are] breathing a huge sigh of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s death occurred hours after a federal appeals court on Friday unsealed nearly 2,000 pages of records related to the wealthy Manhattan businessman and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who became involved with Epstein romantically and allegedly helped recruit and groom young women for him. The files were part of a defamation suit against Maxwell that Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre filed in 2015.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have said Epstein sexually abused dozens of underrage girls at his properties in New York and Florida, dating back to 2002. Many disturbing details about powerful men whom Epstein and Maxwell allegedly set underrage women up with were first revealed in the documents unsealed on Friday.<\/p>\n