Attorney General William Barr, facing pressure from lawmakers after the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, said Monday there were “serious irregularities” at the federal jail in New York, which is under Barr’s jurisdiction, that was housing him.
“I was appalled and frankly angry to learn of the (Metropolitan Correctional Center’s) failure to adequately secure this prisoner,” Barr said in a speech to a law enforcement group in New Orleans.
“We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.”
Barr’s remarks came two days after Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the federal detention center in lower Manhattan. Multiple law enforcement officials said Epstein appeared to have hanged himself, but an initial autopsy was inconclusive.
The FBI and Department of Justice inspector general have launched investigations.
Epstein, 66, was not on suicide watch at the time of his death, even though he was found in his cell two weeks ago with marks on his neck, multiple people familiar with the investigation said.
The wealthy financier and accused sex trafficker was instead returned to a special housing unit, where the guidelines call for corrections officers to check on inmates every 30 minutes.
But the time it took to check on Epstein exceeded 30 minutes on the morning he apparently took his own life, an official briefed on the case told NBC News.
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, also known as the MCC, has been wracked with a staffing shortage that has led to secretaries and case managers being pulled in to do the work of corrections officers, according to an official with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council of Prison Local 33.
The facility is down 38 corrections officers, the official said, forcing those on duty to work double and even triple shifts to fill in the gaps.
“I have not seen anything like this. It is ludicrous,” the official said. “They are running these prisons with practically no staffing.”
Epstein had pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking and sexually abusing girls as young as 14 in the early 2000s.
In his remarks, Barr insisted that the probe will continue.
“Let me assure you that case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein,” Barr said. “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. Victims deserve justice and will get it.”
