William Barr investigated Epstein's death. Now Congress has questions.

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In the hours aft convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein died successful a Manhattan detention cell, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr pledged to intervene personally to pb the probe into Epstein's death.

Among the archetypal to get astatine the Metropolitan Correctional Center soon aft Epstein's decease successful August 2019 were members of Barr's elder staff. The sojourn to the national detention halfway by elder members of the lawyer general's unit was highly unusual, a root who was determination astatine the clip and witnessed the sojourn told CBS News. But truthful was the decease successful custody of specified a arguable figure.

One root didn't callback ever seeing members of the lawyer general's elder unit analyse an inmate decease successful much than 20 years. Another source, progressive successful the investigation, said specified elder visits were rare, and if they occurred, usually pertained to promoting correctional programs, not investigating inmate deaths.

Barr's engagement extended to a idiosyncratic reappraisal of the astir 11 hours of jailhouse surveillance footage from the nighttime of Epstein's death. He said successful an interview with The Associated Press 3 months aboriginal that it showed nary 1 had entered the country wherever Epstein was housed, and helium concurred with the decision of the aesculapian examiner: Epstein had died by suicide.

Last month, aft the FBI made that video public, an analysis by CBS News identified inconsistencies betwixt Barr's statement of the video and what it really showed — including whether it truly proves nary 1 other entered the compartment block.

Now, Barr is scheduled to look connected Monday connected Capitol Hill, wherever helium volition beryllium questioned down closed doors by members of Congress conducting a reappraisal of the Epstein matter.

Sources acquainted with the oversight committee's plans archer CBS News they volition beryllium asking questions astir Barr's engagement successful the decease investigation.

Attorney General William Barr Holds News Conference successful 2020

The deposition of Barr, who served 2 Republican presidents arsenic U.S. lawyer general, comes arsenic Epstein's 2019 decease successful national custody has travel nether renewed, aggravated nationalist and governmental scrutiny. House Committee connected Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, issued respective deposition subpoenas successful August, including to Barr, erstwhile President Bill Clinton, erstwhile U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and erstwhile FBI Director James Comey.

Barr, a seasoned of the George H.W. Bush medication who was serving his 2nd stint arsenic caput of the Justice Department nether President Trump astatine the time, said helium was "appalled" erstwhile Epstein was recovered dormant connected Aug. 10, 2019, successful his compartment successful the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Epstein was being held astatine the present temporarily shuttered national detention halfway aft being arrested connected enactment trafficking charges that could person carried a beingness sentence. His apprehension came aft years of questions surrounding an earlier arguable prosecutorial woody successful Florida wherever helium pleaded to state prostitution charges and a national felony lawsuit was dropped.

Scrutiny astir that deal, and his consequent death, has fueled years of suspicions and conspiracy theories. The furor besides has enveloped Epstein's immense web of almighty erstwhile friends, including Mr. Trump and erstwhile President Clinton, who person disavowed him and person not been accused of wrongdoing.

Campaign promises to "declassify" files related to Epstein, made by Mr. Trump and his surrogates successful 2024, person led to months of political headaches for the White House.

The merchandise past period of what the Justice Department called "raw" surveillance video from adjacent Epstein's compartment block, alternatively than settling questions astir the nighttime helium died, raised caller ones. The analysis by CBS News flagged aggregate inconsistencies betwixt the video and the 2023 report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General connected Epstein's death.

As Congress steps up its inquiry, Barr is the archetypal idiosyncratic scheduled to beryllium deposed by the committee.

Barr has acknowledged what he called "a cleanable tempest of screw-ups" astatine the jail, but said his "personal review" of surveillance footage supported the decision that Epstein had died by suicide.

As lawyer general, Barr faced calls to recuse himself from Epstein's transgression lawsuit due to the fact that helium had antecedently worked for a instrumentality firm, Kirkland and Ellis, that had represented Epstein. (Their paths besides indirectly crossed decades earlier, successful the aboriginal 1970s, erstwhile Epstein was hired to thatch astatine an elite backstage schoolhouse successful New York City wherever Barr's begetter was the headmaster.)

Here is simply a look astatine immoderate unanswered questions Barr whitethorn beryllium asked based connected a reappraisal of the 2023 DOJ inspector general's report, documents released by the Bureau of Prisons, and the surveillance video.

Questions for Barr astir Jeffrey Epstein decease investigation

Did the video Barr reviewed from MCC person a missing minute?

Before the supposedly "raw" surveillance video was released past month, showing astir 11 hours of footage from the nighttime Epstein died, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that 1 infinitesimal close earlier midnight was missing was due to the fact that "every nighttime is reset, truthful each nighttime should person the aforesaid missing minute," from 11:59 p.m. to midnight.

That was aboriginal disputed by a authorities root acquainted with the probe successful an interrogation with CBS News successful July. Another high-level authorities root said the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General are successful possession of afloat unedited copies of the video, and those copies do not person a missing minute. Why the FBI released the video with that tiny conception missing is unclear, and it is not known if thing notable occurred during that minute.

Does Barr inactive judge that "between the clip Epstein was locked successful his compartment astatine 7:49 p.m. connected the nighttime of August 9 and the clip helium was discovered the adjacent greeting astatine 6:30 a.m., nary 1 entered his tier"?

Barr made that connection successful 2019, but the CBS News video investigation indicates the presumption from the jailhouse camera does not conclusively beryllium nary 1 entered Epstein's compartment block. A staircase starring to Epstein's compartment artifact is astir wholly retired of presumption from the camera, with conscionable a tiny sliver of stairs visible. From the video released publicly, experts told CBS News it is intolerable to find whether anyone entered the jailhouse portion and accessed the staircase without being captured connected the recording.

Just earlier 10:40 p.m., the video shows a glimpse of an orangish signifier moving up the stairs starring to Epstein's tier. The inspector general's study said that it was a jailhouse staffer bringing orangish linens oregon inmate covering up the stairs. Some video forensic experts who reviewed that footage astatine the petition of CBS News said they were skeptical astir that interpretation. They suggested the signifier could beryllium a idiosyncratic dressed successful an orangish situation jumpsuit climbing the stairs. Inmates were typically confined to their cells precocious astatine night.

What did the DOJ bash to analyse theories different than suicide?

No grounds has surfaced suggesting that anyone other was progressive successful Epstein's death. He had been placed connected termination ticker aft an evident effort to bent himself a period before, and remained nether heightened observation. However, determination bash stay important unanswered questions astir his death, immoderate of which were raised successful a "60 Minutes" report successful 2020 looking astatine the aesculapian evidence. Those included questions relating to the autopsy.

A backstage autopsy commissioned by Epstein's family, conducted alongside the authoritative introspection by the aesculapian examiner, raised concerns astir the space of the ligature marks connected his cervix and the beingness of breached cervix bones, findings that suggested a level of unit greater than typically associated with a hanging. The medical examiner disputed that, saying specified fractures tin hap successful suicides.

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