Prison Chief: FBI Investigating Possible 'Criminal Enterprise' in Epstein's Death
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer reveals probe to Sen. Lindsay Graham
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FBI investigators are looking into whether a "criminal enterprise" played a part in the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the Bureau of Prisons’ director revealed during testimony on Capitol Hill.
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer made the admission during questioning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee involving Sen. Lindsay Graham.
“With a case this high profile, there has got to be either a major malfunction of the system or criminal enterprise at foot to allow this to happen," Graham said.
"So are you looking at both, is the FBI looking at both?” the South Carolina Republican senator asked.
“The FBI is involved, and they are looking at criminal enterprise, yes,” Sawyer replied.
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The convicted sex offender was found in his Manhattan federal prison cell on Aug. 10, which was ruled suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.
On Tuesday, two of the prison guards who were on duty at the New York City jail the night financier Jeffrey Epstein 'killed himself,' were arrested on federal charges relating to their failure to check on him every half hour, according to The New York Times.
Graham asked Sawyer how such a death-like Epstein's could have happened, to which she responded:
"The whole situation is still under the investigation of the FBI and the Inspector General’s office, and I’m really not at liberty to discuss specifics of this case," Sawyer replied.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy demanded answers in a letter to #ABC News regarding allegations that the network 'spiked' a story on pedophile #JeffreyEpstein in 2015
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) November 18, 2019
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"I can discuss issues around institutional operations, but I can’t specifically talk about that particular issue," she added.
Sawyer explained how Epstein was on suicide watch prior to his death, describing how the Bureau of Prisons has "different tiers of response if we identify an inmate who appears to have suicidal thinking."
“They move into psychological observation," she later said.
"Psychologists see them routinely, interview them repeatedly, and once it’s determined that the threat of suicide seems to have passed, then that inmate can be returned back to open population.”
Graham did not appear satisfied with her response.
“Well, clearly, it didn’t work here, so we await the report because all the victims of Mr. Epstein have to have their heart ripped out as they will never see justice," he said.
Last month, a leading forensic pathologist, who was present during Epstein's autopsy, said that the dead sex offender's injuries suggest he died from "homicidal strangulation" rather than suicidal hanging.
