Two guards suspended at ‘suicide’ jail
TWO guards have been suspended and a warden reassigned at the New York jail where Jeffrey Epstein died.
The suspension was ordered by US Attorney General William Barr, a day after he criticised the jail’s failure over the suspected suicide. A statement said Mr Barr ‘directed the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily assign’ warden Lamine N’Diaye to a regional office while an investigation takes place.
The two suspended guards were working at the unit holding Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre. The statement added: ‘Additional actions may be taken as the circumstances warrant.’ It came as a journalist claimed Epstein was ‘unapologetic’ about his past and compared having sex with teens to homosexuality.
During one of his last interviews before his death, the billionaire paedophile was ‘at ease’ discussing his interest in young girls – and boasted about having ‘potentially damaging or embarrassing’ information on the rich, famous and powerful.
Epstein had a 90-minute meeting last August with New York Times columnist James Stewart. He ‘made no secret of his own scandalous past’ and acknowledged that ‘he was a pariah in polite society’, wrote Stewart. He had met Epstein to address rumours that he was advising Tesla and its controversial owner Elon Musk.
Stewart said: ‘If he was reticent about Tesla, he was more at ease discussing his interest in young women. He said criminalising sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and at times in history it was perfectly acceptable.
‘He pointed out homosexuality had long been considered a crime and was still punishable by death in some parts of the world.’ Stewart said Epstein pointed to pictures on the walls of the Manhattan townhouse, of world leaders and celebrities including Bill Clinton and Woody Allen. ‘The over-riding impression I took away was that Mr Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people,’ he said. ‘He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.’
When news of Epstein’s death emerged, Stewart said he thought many ‘prominent’ figures would be ‘breathing sighs of relief’.
Donald Trump said last night he wanted a ‘full investigation’ into Epstein’s death.