Congress demands answers after Jeffrey Epstein’s death

Prison guards shouted ‘breathe Epstein breathe’ as they tried to revive billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein after he was found hanging in his jail cell as members of Congress demand answers regarding his apparent suicide. 

Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he was found dead on Saturday having apparently hanged himself in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. 

The sex offender had previously been on suicide watch but that was lifted some time prior to his death. 

In the days since Epstein’s death, a portrait has begun to emerge of Manhattan’s federal detention center as a chronically understaffed facility that possibly made a series of missteps in handling its most high-profile inmate. 

A source told CBS News that shouting could be heard coming from Epstein’s cell on Saturday morning with guards yelling: ‘breath Epstein breathe’.

Other sources have said that one of Epstein’s two guards the night he died wasn’t a regular correctional officer and had been brought in due to staffing shortages.

The House Judiciary Committee sent a scathing letter on Monday to the acting director of federal prisons, saying that the competency and rigor of the criminal justice system had been marred by Epstein’s death in custody. 

Chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Democrat Jerry Nadler, said if the allegations of mistakes made at the prison were true, it would demonstrate ‘severe miscarriages of or deficiencies in inmate protocol and has allowed the deceased to ultimately evade facing justice.’

Nadler and other lawmakers asked for answers ranging from the prison’s suicide-prevention policies to information on the guards on duty and whether video cameras were in use.

It asks that the answers be provided by August 21 and adds that it is imperative that his committee, which oversees the Department of Justice, receives a reply.

Nadler’s letter echoed comments from U.S. Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, who on Monday criticized ‘serious irregularities’ at the federal prison.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Democrat Jerry Nadler sent a scathing letter on Monday to the acting director of federal prisons saying that the competency and rigor of the criminal justice system had been marred by Epstein’s death in custody

In the days since Epstein’s death, a portrait has begun to emerge of Manhattan’s federal detention center as a chronically understaffed facility that possibly made a series of missteps in handling its most high-profile inmate

Barr, who said he was ‘appalled’ and ‘frankly angry’ to learn of the prison’s failure to adequately secure the jail, vowed to continue the sex-trafficking investigation involving Epstein.  

‘We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,’ Barr said. 

‘The FBI and office of the inspector general are doing just that. We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability.

Barr also vowed to find anyone who was complicit with Epstein. 

‘Any co-conspirators should not rest easy,’ he said. 

The 66-year-old was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14. 

Epstein was already a registered sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex. 

Prior to that conviction, he had counted the rich and powerful, including U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, among his associates.

Nadler’s letter echoed comments from U.S. Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, who on Monday criticized ‘serious irregularities’ at the federal prison