FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino insisted that disgraced financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in an exclusive interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo Sunday.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August 2019. New York City's chief medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He was set to stand trial on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His death instantly triggered a wave of conspiracy theories, with many speculating that he was murdered in order to protect the powerful figures who associated with him.
Epstein was a known associate of former President Bill Clinton, former MIT Professor Noam Chomsky, and Prince Andrew. The phrase "Epstein didn’t kill himself" became a viral internet meme in the wake of his death. Patel, however, was adamant that his death was indeed a suicide when questioned by Bartiromo.
"As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who's been in that prison system, who's been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who's been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was," Patel said when questioned about Epstein's death. He added that those who disagree with him "have a right to their opinion."
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FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that Jeffrey Epstein's death was a suicide on Sunday. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
"He killed himself," Bongino added, "I’ve seen the whole file, he killed himself."
Conservatives were livid in February after the Trump administration’s Justice Department facilitated a release of documents related to the Epstein case that critics claimed had been "a complete disappointment." The documents did not include a so-called "client list," nor were there any new revelations regarding Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.
"I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today… A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein's phonebook, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!" Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., posted on X.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking of minors charges. (Rick Friedman/Corbis)
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After the blowback, Attorney General Pam Boni told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in March that the Justice Department had received "thousands of pages" of additional documents from the DOJ office in the Southern District of New York after she had given them a deadline to turn them over. Bondi claimed the DOJ had received a "truckload of evidence" and that a detailed report from the FBI was forthcoming. No report has been issued to date.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre died by suicide in April. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Epstein and Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April. Giuffre, 41, was one of the most prominent accusers to step forward and sued Prince Andrew in New York in 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with him three times between 1999 and 2002. She claimed she was recruited by Epstein’s then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was just sixteen years old.
David Spector is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to david.spector@fox.com.