FBI responds to Epstein conspiracy theories after full case file review
Top FBI officials have confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 death was a suicide, following a full review of the case files.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Director Kash Patel stated there is no evidence to suggest foul play in Epstein's death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
'I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There's no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise,' Bongino said in a statement posted on X. Patel echoed the conclusion, stating during a Fox News interview, 'You know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was.'
Epstein, a financier facing federal charges for sex trafficking, was found dead in his jail cell on August 10, 2019. His death prompted widespread speculation and conspiracy theories, particularly due to his high-profile connections. Jail protocol failures on the day of his death — including guards sleeping on duty and malfunctioning security cameras — further fueled public suspicion.
While the New York City medical examiner ruled the cause of death as suicide by hanging, Epstein's family hired forensic pathologist Michael Baden, who suggested the injuries indicated possible homicide. However, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson stood by the original ruling.
Patel and Bongino also hinted at forthcoming transparency efforts within the FBI, promising document releases on politically sensitive investigations, including the Trump-Russia probe and the January 6 Capitol riot.
Their statements aim to reaffirm public confidence in the agency's findings and counter ongoing conspiracy narratives surrounding Epstein's death.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1737192425-0%2FUntitled-design-(18)1737192425-0.png&w=3840&q=100)
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Kim Kardashian condemns ICE raids, urges humane immigration enforcement in Los Angeles
Kim Kardashian has publicly denounced recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles, urging a more compassionate and humane approach to immigration enforcement amid escalating national protests. The reality star and entrepreneur addressed the issue Tuesday night in an Instagram post to her 356 million followers. 'When we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up. We have to do what's right,' she wrote. Her statement comes amid heightened tensions in Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump's latest wave of deportation actions targeting undocumented immigrants sparked widespread protests. The demonstrations began Friday and have continued for five days. In response, Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city—reportedly without the authorization of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor Newsom condemned the deployment, calling it a provocative move that 'inflamed a combustible situation.' The state has since challenged the federal action in court. Kardashian, who grew up in Los Angeles, emphasized the vital role immigrants play in the city's cultural and social fabric. 'They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers, and family,' she said. 'There HAS to be a BETTER way.' Although she previously expressed gratitude toward Trump in 2018 for commuting the life sentence of Alice Johnson, Kardashian's current remarks reflect a clear shift in tone. At the time, she had said she had 'nothing bad to say about the president.' Now, Kardashian is using her influence to advocate for change. She stressed that justice and public safety should never come at the cost of family separation or widespread fear.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business Recorder
US Marines arrive in LA; California governor warns ‘democracy under assault'
LOS ANGELES: Hundreds of US Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions in America's second largest city as California's governor warned 'democracy is under assault.' Trump's extraordinary measures of sending National Guard and Marines to quell protests, which broke out in response to his immigration raids, fueled demonstrations for a fifth day in Los Angeles, and sparked protests in several other cities. As Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom traded fulminations, the city's mayor said the protests were limited to about five downtown streets, but declared a curfew for parts of the downtown area due to violence and looting. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and 'mass arrests are being initiated'. Police earlier said that 197 people had already been arrested on Tuesday - more than double the total number of arrests to date. Democratic leaders have raised concerns over a national crisis in what has become the most intense flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on opponents who take to the streets in protest. 'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began,' Newsom said in an a video address. 'He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. … Democracy is under assault.' Newsom, widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, has called the deployments an illegal waste of resources. He and the state sued Trump and the Defence Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. Trump, voted back into office last year largely for his promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honoring soldiers on Tuesday to defend his decision. California governor calls Trump National Guard deployment in LA unlawful He told troops at the Army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina: 'Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness.' 'What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags,' Trump said, adding his administration would 'liberate Los Angeles.' Unrest in the streets Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. Homeland Security said on Monday its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced a curfew for one square mile (2.5 square km) of downtown Los Angeles that will run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. locally (0300 to 1300 GMT) for several days. With five minutes until the curfew took effect, hundreds of protesters faced police with their hands raised, chanting 'peaceful protest.' Even so, state and local officials have called Trump's response an extreme over-reaction to mostly peaceful demonstrations. Bass emphasized at a press conference the distinction between the majority of demonstrators protesting peacefully and a smaller number of agitators she blamed for violence and looting. A curfew had been considered for several days but Bass said she decided to impose one after 23 business were looted on Monday night. 'When these peaceful rallies end, and the protesters head home, another element moves in: opportunists, who come in under the cover of a peaceful protest to ravage and destroy,' Council member Ysabel Jurado, who represents the area, told reporters. As the mayor and the council member spoke, police and protesters were engaged in skirmishes outside. In what has become a daily ritual, police forced demonstrators away from the streets outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where many detained migrants are held. Multiple groups of protesters snaked through downtown Los Angeles, monitored or followed by police armed with less lethal munitions. Trump deploys National Guard as Los Angeles protests against immigration agents continue Protests also took place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where demonstrators shouted at and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed onto the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished. Christina Berger, 39, said it was heartbreaking to hear about children who are afraid of being separated from their families due to immigration raids, adding, 'I just want to give some hope to my friends and neighbors.' Marines at the ready About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50 km) south of Los Angeles, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a US official said. A US official said there were 2,100 National Guard troops in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, more than half the 4,000 to be activated. The Marines and National Guard troops lack the authority to makes arrests and will be charged only with protecting federal property and personnel. Even so, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the US military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. 'Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law,' Bonta said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to redouble the immigration raids in response to the street protests.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Trump defends LA Marines deployment amid more protests
Federal agents detain an individual after their hearing in an immigration court in New York City. Photo: AFP Hundreds of US Marines were expected in Los Angeles on Tuesday after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment in response to protests against immigration arrests and despite objections by state officials. The 700 elite troops will join around 4,000 National Guard soldiers, amping up the militarization of the tense situation in the sprawling city, which is home to millions of foreign-born and Latino residents. The small-scale and largely peaceful demonstrations — marred by sporadic but violent clashes between police and protesters — were entering their fifth day. In downtown LA's Little Tokyo neighborhood at night Monday, scores of protesters faced off with security officials in riot gear, some shooting fireworks at officers who fired back volleys of tear gas. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X that US Marines "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American." But Trump has branded the LA protesters "professional agitators and insurrectionists." "If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now," he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. Earlier, demonstrators marching with banners and handmade signs yelled "ICE out of LA" and "National Guard go away" — a reference to immigration agents and Guard soldiers. One small business owner in the city, whose property was graffitied during the protests, was supportive of Trump's strong-arm tactics. "I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name. Others were horrified. "They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore." LA police have detained dozens of protesters in recent days, while authorities in San Francisco and other US cities have also made arrests.
