The two federal prison guards tasked with watching the Manhattan jail cell occupied by the late Jeffrey Epstein have been arrested as part of an investigation into the billionaire financier’s mysterious death. They have been charged with falsifying their records of the incident.
The New York Times reports the two guards that have been arrested were responsible for checking on Epstein’s cell every 30 minutes. During their shifts, they reportedly fell asleep for hours. Officials familiar with the matter say the arrest of the guards is part of a larger investigation into his death, which was ruled as a suicide in August.
Epstein died in his cell while he was awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. The New York native was said to have vast connections with elites in politics, finance, and entertainment. Former contacts include both sitting President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. He was moved into the cell and placed under additional security after being taken off of suicide watch.
Because of Epstein’s vast connections, his death has been the subject of viral conspiracy theories. The phrase “Epstein didn’t kill himself” has since become an internet sensation, the implication being that the billionaire was killed so that he wouldn’t leak information about his high-profile associates, who ostensibly benefitted from his sex trafficking of minors.
These connections include the royal family in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II will reportedly be confronting her son, Prince Andrew about what he knows about Epstein and his so-called “pedophile island,” a property owned by the financier said to have been used to house the minors being trafficked.
“And she will be looking at her son, and will be asking did this really happen, in a private conversation. She has to put on a brave face in public,” Royal adviser Dickie Arbiter said during a Good Morning Britain broadcast. “It is a serious issue. He was friends with a convicted pedophile.”
Epstein’s gruesome past has been speculated about for years leading up to his death. ABC News has been under fire after a Project Veritas investigation found that network executives moved to squash a story detailing the accusations against Epstein years ago, as well as his questionable connections to people including the Clintons. Republican House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to the network demanding answers.
“I have questions for ABC,” Rep. McCarhy said during a Fox News interview. “We’re talking about human trafficking, modern-day slavery with young men and women. And we had Epstein, a very powerful man, who’d already pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor and served time … so powerful that ABC may have stopped a story three years prior. How many minors would we have helped, prior?”
McCarthy is demanding a congressional investigation into ABC News if they don’t respond to his letter in a timely manner.
