The Latest on the aftermath of Jeffrey Epstein’s death (all times local):
7:50 p.m.
Lawyers for financier Jeffrey Epstein say they’re dissatisfied with the medical examiner’s conclusions and plan to view prison videos themselves from a facility operating under “medieval conditions.”
Three lawyers issued a joint statement after a medical examiner announced Friday that an autopsy and other evidence confirms the 66-year-old registered sex offender hanged himself.
Epstein was declared dead after he was found in his cell Aug. 10 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, adjacent to Manhattan’s courthouses.
Attorneys Martin Weinberg, Reid Weingarten and Michael Miller said in a statement that it is “indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols” at the federal lockup.
They say they’ll conduct their own probe and get court help, if necessary, to see “pivotal videos.”
They say they’re most interested in videos of areas around his cell.
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7:15 p.m.
A Justice Department official says people including jail staff members believed to have information pertinent to the probe into financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death are not cooperating with investigators.
The official says the people have not yet been interviewed by the FBI and that their lack of cooperation is a challenge as investigators works to try to determine the full circumstances surrounding Epstein’s suicide.
The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The official says the FBI has repeatedly sought interviews with some staff members but those interviews are being delayed by union representatives.
The official spoke on the same day a medical examiner announced that an autopsy showed the 66-year-old Epstein hanged himself in his cell.
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6:45 p.m.
A lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-cellmate says his client was cleared of wrongdoing after Epstein was found injured in his cell weeks before his death last Saturday.
Attorney Bruce Barket said Friday he was told shortly before Epstein was found dead at a federal lockup last week that his client — an ex-police officer facing murder charges — was cleared in the July 23 incident.
A medical examiner announced Friday that an autopsy and other evidence confirms the 66-year-old financier hanged himself .
Barket says his client “obviously is a witness” to what occurred in July that left Epstein with bruises on his neck. They shared a cell.
He says investigators told him by email that his client would face no charges, including disciplinary charges, in connection with the July episode.
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4:20
New York City’s medical examiner has ruled Jeffrey Epstein’s death a suicide.
The medical examiner’s office said in a statement Friday that an autopsy and other evidence confirms the 66-year-old financier hanged himself in his cell at a federal jail.
Epstein was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
Epstein was placed on suicide watch in late July after he was found on his cell floor with bruising on his neck.
But multiple people familiar with the jail’s operations ail say he was taken off the watch at the end of July.
He was found dead Aug. 10.
The Associated Press often does not report details of suicide methods, but has made an exception because Epstein’s cause of death is pertinent to the ongoing investigations.
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2:50 p.m.
Federal officials have been told to expect that a medical examiner’s findings on Jeffrey Epstein’s death will be released Friday.
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press. The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Epstein is believed to have killed himself early Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The federal jail in Manhattan where Epstein was being held has come under sharp scrutiny in the wake of Epstein’s suicide.
Attorney General William Barr says officials have uncovered “serious irregularities” at the jail.
The FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general are both investigating Epstein’s death.
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Balsamo reported from Washington
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1:40 p.m.
Two more women have sued Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, saying he sexually abused them.
The suit was filed Thursday in a federal court in New York.
The women say they were working as hostesses at a popular Manhattan restaurant in 2004 when they were recruited to give Epstein massages.
One was 18 at the time. The other was 20.
The lawsuit says an unidentified female recruiter offered the hostesses hundreds of dollars to provide a massage to Epstein, saying he “liked young, pretty girls to massage him.”
The lawsuit says that the recruiter promised no unwanted touching but that Epstein groped them anyway.
One plaintiff now lives in Japan, the other in Baltimore.
They seek $100 million in damages, citing depression, anxiety, anger, flashbacks and nightmares.
Epstein died in jail Aug. 10.
