The Daily - The Epstein Investigation, Now That He’s Dead

Episode Date: August 13, 2019

Federal prosecutors were confident that, this time, justice would be served in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. What happens to the case against him now that he is dead? Guest: Benjamin Weiser, an investigative criminal justice reporter for The New York Times.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading:Despite Jeffrey Epstein's death, the criminal investigation that led to the sex-trafficking charges continues. Prosecutors will focus on those who may have aided him.At Mr. Epstein’s Palm Beach home, it was hard for workers to miss what was happening, with about 100 masseuses seen there at various times.

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro. This is The Daily. Today, federal prosecutors were confident that this time, justice would be served in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. So what happens to the case against him now that he's dead? It's Tuesday, August 13th. In a year-long investigation, the Miami Herald says it has located 60 women who say they were molested or sexually assaulted by multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. molested or sexually assaulted by multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

I was 16. I started going to him when I was like 14. Victims outraged that Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two prostitution counts, getting just 13 months in county jail. According to an extensive investigation by the Miami Herald, accused serial pedophile and multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein got a sweetheart deal. Today, we announce the unsealing of sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein. This new indictment comes 11 years after Epstein reached a deal with attorneys in Florida to avoid a similar charge. And while the charge conduct is from a number of years ago, it is still profoundly important

to the many alleged victims, now young women. They deserve their day in court, and we are proud to be standing up for them by bringing this indictment. Ben, tell me about this jail where Jeffrey Epstein was sent after being arrested a few weeks ago. Epstein, right after his arrest, was sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. It's often referred to as the MCC. Ben Weiser covers the federal courts in Manhattan. It's a federal detention facility built in the 70s, holds about 800 people. And it's actually both well known for its high, high security

and probably for the notorious defendants who have been held there. The defendants convicted today would have killed within 48 hours literally thousands of innocents. Ramzi Youssef, who plotted and carried out the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Gotti was said to be the most powerful crime figure in America. The mob boss, John Gotti, Bernie Madoff. The losses in an alleged Ponzi scheme run by money manager Bernard Madoff are still being calculated. We all know stole billions of dollars. An extraordinary arrest operation for Mexico's most notorious criminal, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, was arrested for the...

Most recently, El Chapo, the Mexican drug lord, was held there. And that's the jail where Epstein was brought after his arrest last month. So this is a very logical place for a high-profile billionaire accused of a kind of infamous crime to be held. Yes, that's right. Epstein was being held in what is known as the special housing unit or the SHU. And it's a place where inmates are put often to protect themselves. Epstein's crime could have made him a real target for other prisoners, but Epstein would have been allowed to meet with the lawyers regularly and for many hours a day. And he is, like almost everyone at the MCC, presumed innocent. He is

pending trial. He has not been convicted. The judge set his trial date for next year, next summer. He tried hard to get released on bail, pending trial, and had made a very unusual bail request where his lawyers asked the judge to allow him to essentially be subjected to home detention in a large mansion that he owns on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And he would finance the cost of having private security guards guard him there and presumably keep him from fleeing. But the judge in this case, Richard Berman, dismissed it, making it very clear that he thought Epstein, because of his wealth, his properties around the world, could have been a flight risk. But even more than that, the judge said, he could be a danger to the community.

So Epstein now, after being denied bail, is being held in the jail in that special housing unit. And his lawyers were beginning to prepare his case. The government's investigation was still continuing. Now to the ongoing story of millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And then on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jeffrey Epstein was found on the floor of his cell, semi-conscious, in a fetal position with marks around his neck. Epstein was found injured on the floor of his cell.

Two sources tell NBC News Epstein tried to hang himself. And although the injuries were not said to be serious, it was seen as a possible suicide attempt. At the time, Epstein had a cellmate, another prisoner named Nicholas Tartaglione, who's a former police officer facing murder charges. And apparently, according to Tartaglione's lawyer, the two men got along well. A fellow inmate was questioned after Epstein was found, but that inmate's attorney says his client was not involved. And I think there's some sense that when Epstein was found injured that morning, it was his cellmate who called for the authorities. Epstein was treated at the hospital and brought back to the jail and

was put under a suicide watch. It's a 24-hour, very close monitoring. He would receive daily psychiatric evaluations. But six days later, less than a week, the jail officials concluded that he was no longer a threat to his own life and he was no longer on the suicide watch. no longer a threat to his own life, and he was no longer on the suicide watch. And what kind of precautions are taken after someone like Epstein is taken off suicide watch? I have to imagine that there's still a tremendous amount of monitoring going on to kind of make sure that there's not another attempt. Our understanding is that Epstein, even after being removed from Suicide Watch,

was supposed to have been checked by the guards in this protective unit every half hour. And he's also placed with another cellmate, a different one this time, who is there to keep an eye on things, perhaps call for help if necessary, but so that he will not be alone. And what's going on with Epstein's case around this time? You mentioned that his lawyers are in and out of the jail briefing him. That's right. Epstein's predicament was pretty dire. He had lost his attempt to be released on bail into a kind of home detention with guards. Any appeal of that was weeks off. A trial was a year off.

Then he faced a potential sentence for the rest of his life in prison. And he also had civil suits that were mounting. And that's just based on the women who had sued before his arrest in New York. And finally, there was something else going on at the same time. A federal court releasing thousands of pages of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Just last week, a federal court of appeals released and posted online some 2,000 pages of documents. And analysts say the documents could contain potentially explosive new information on abuses by some very powerful people. Newly released, the whole trope of materials that provided even more disturbing details, I think, than had been known. She says she was forced to have sex with not only Epstein, but high-profile men, including former Maine Senator...

About what was going on inside Epstein's mansion in Manhattan at his home in Florida, how he and his associates recruited young women and girls. Included with the documents are photographs, including one previous release showing Epstein acquaintance Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of Epstein accuser Virginia Dufresne. Essentially, an inside look at Jeffrey Epstein's life and the sex trafficking operation. look at Jeffrey Epstein's life and the sex trafficking operation. And these documents included depositions and police reports and receipts and flight logs and photographs. And there's more to come. Next month, the court is going to look at a second, much larger trove of materials to see what should be released. And it's impossible to get inside his head, but from a legal and objective perspective, the walls were closing.

We'll be right back. So Ben, what happens on Saturday morning? On Saturday morning at about 6.30, Epstein is found unresponsive in his cell, in the shoe, at the MCC. Our understanding is that life-saving measures were started immediately by responding jail officers. EMS was summoned and he was eventually rushed to a local hospital and was pronounced dead there. And I have to say the news exploded. We start this hour with breaking news. Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Jeffrey Epstein has taken his own life while he was behind bars

here in New York City facing charges of sex trafficking. The FBI, the Department of Justice, and the New York City Medical Examiner's Office are all investigating his death. As a reporter, my question was, how could this happen, particularly given the extra precautions that we understood had been taken after his first attempt? the extra precautions that we understood had been taken after his first attempt. What have we found, given all those precautions, how this could have happened? The detention center itself has not given any explanation other than the fact that he died there. We do know investigations are underway, and they are obviously focusing on that. But there has been information coming out. The president of the national unions

that represent the guards at the MCC have talked about the staffing shortages across the country in federal prisons and detention centers. And this jail has been short-staffed for some time. We're told, for example, that both of the guards who are on duty in the protective housing unit where Epstein was being held were working overtime, one on his fifth straight day of overtime, and the other apparently forced to come in to work overtime. And the union head was saying that, you know, overnight checks, for example, in this protective unit are typically done, as we mentioned, every half hour, but sometimes that schedule varies. This union head, Eric Young, would not discuss this specific case other

than to say that he was nearly certain that Epstein had a cellmate after he was removed from Suicide Watch. But he said, I can tell you it is unequivocal that he did not have anyone with him when he committed suicide. Alone. So no, suddenly no cellmate. That's correct. Suddenly no cellmate. That's correct. Ben, what happens to this case now? It's a criminal prosecution with Jeffrey Epstein as the named defendant. And now that named defendant has taken his own life. So does that mean that this criminal case essentially dies with him?

essentially dies with him? Mike, when somebody is facing trial, is under indictment, is being prosecuted and dies, whether it's by suicide or a natural death, or even in the case of Osama bin Laden, which was, you know, he was killed by the United States, the case disappears. The criminal case disappears. There's actually a very solemn filing of a document called a NALPROS, where the government goes to the court and says, we are dropping the charges against so-and-so because that person has died. And, you know, one of the real concerns was with his death and with the end of the criminal case against Epstein, what did that mean? What did it mean for prosecutors and their investigation? And also, what did it mean for victims did it mean for prosecutors and their investigation? And also, what did it mean for victims, those who wanted to see him come to justice and those who perhaps

had sued him and wanted to recover damages? And one of the first things that happened in the hours after Epstein's death was a statement by the United States attorney in Manhattan, Jeffrey Berman, whose office is prosecuting Epstein, in which he made it clear that they were going to continue this investigation. And he specifically noted in a statement that the charges against Epstein had included a conspiracy count and that the investigation remained ongoing. And of course, that means that other people were also under investigation beyond Epstein. Before I begin, I'd like to briefly address news from the Manhattan Correctional Center over the weekend regarding Jeffrey Epstein. And that was said by no one less than William Barr, the attorney general of the United States, who was speaking in New Orleans on Monday. This sex trafficking case was very important to the Department of Justice

and to me personally. And he said it was important to the dedicated prosecutors and agents who investigated the case and were preparing it for trial. Most importantly, this case was important to the victims who had the courage to come forward and deserve the opportunity to confront the accused in the courtroom. And he also made clear that he said we are learning of serious irregularities at the MCC that are deeply concerning and that demand a thorough investigation. are deeply concerning and that demand a thorough investigation. And just a reminder, the Bureau of Prisons, which runs the MCC, is part of the Justice Department. So ultimately, Barr is the supervisor. We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability. But let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.

I wonder, what does justice look like in this case, now that Jeffrey Epstein is dead? You know, it's a very important question. And in recent reporting by myself and the full team of reporters at the Times that have been looking into this, we've asked that question. And for many of the victims, there was the fear that Epstein's death would bring to an end this second attempt to bring him to justice. And that he had somehow again eluded prosecution in the same way he had eluded federal prosecution years earlier in Florida. But there are options. Lawyers representing victims have obviously brought lawsuits, and now those suits will be against Epstein's estate. And we know the estate is very large. The government has said it's at least half a billion

dollars. The United States Attorney's Office also has an option, and I think it's going to happen, to bring a civil forfeiture action. And all that really means is that they go after property, like his $56 million mansion on the Upper East Side. And all they have to do is prove that it was used to help facilitate his crime, to be able to seize it, sell it, and have the proceeds go to victims in one way or another. It's the same procedure that was used to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis in World War II and return to victims' families. And one of the former prosecutors in that office who handled those kinds of cases told me the victims will lose the opportunity to face Epstein in court and to see

him eye to eye and tell their story, but they can still work with the government to get that story out. Another person suggested that there are victims out there who might be feeling relieved, in a sense, of some of the fear that might have prevented them from coming forward while Epstein was alive. And I will say it seemed summed up very well by one woman who has accused him and was one of the dozens of girls the Palm Beach police and the FBI have found were recruited by Epstein. And she said, I never wanted him to die. I just wanted him to be held accountable for his actions. And with his death and the case still going forward against

others and lawsuits, the question will be, can that be done? Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Mike. Thank you, Mike. On Monday night, the Times reported that one of the two people guarding Epstein inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center was not a full-fledged correctional officer, and that neither guard had checked on Epstein for several hours before he was found dead. Meanwhile, FBI agents and New York City detectives carried out a raid on Monday of Epstein's 70-acre island in the U.S. Virgin Islands,

looking for documents, photographs, videos, and computers that could be used in their ongoing prosecutions. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. President Trump's administration is reinforcing the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, ensuring that immigrants are able to support themselves and become successful here in America. On Monday, the Trump administration said it would make it harder for legal immigrants who rely on government benefits like food stamps and subsidized housing

to obtain permanent legal status in an attempt to reduce the number of poor immigrants. Our rule generally prevents aliens who are likely to become a public charge from coming to the United States or remaining here and getting a green card. During a news conference, Ken Cuccinelli, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that the program would not apply to refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants who already have green cards, or pregnant women and children. But immigration advocates warned that large numbers of legal immigrants, including those not actually subject to the regulation, may give up needed benefits because they fear retribution from immigration officials. So the benefit to taxpayers is a long-term benefit of seeking to ensure that our immigration

system is bringing people to join us as American citizens, as legal permanent residents first, who can stand on their own two feet. And... Thousands of demonstrators shut down Hong Kong's airport, one of the busiest in the world, in the latest escalation of a three-month-old protest movement against the government there. The protests began over a plan by Hong Kong's mayor

to allow the island's residents to be extradited to mainland China, but have been sustained by anger over the crackdown of the protests by the city's police. Meanwhile, China appears to be losing patience with the protesters, comparing them on Monday to terrorists. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.