Mark Epstein criticizes investigation of his brother's death

Mark Epstein, the brother of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, in a Tuesday interview criticized the investigation into the 2019 death in prison of his brother, which was ruled a suicide.

Asked about his calls for a further investigation on NewsNation's "On Balance with Leland Vittert," Epstein suggested the initial investigation was lacking.

"Well, first of all, you're saying 'that investigation.' It doesn't seem to have been much of an investigation at all. That's the real question," he said.

“Because things like the EMT and the medical personnel at the hospital, none of them have ever been questioned," Epstein continued. "And they have found that to be odd, because they're always questioned, especially in high-profile cases."

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while being held ahead of his trial on sex-trafficking charges. The New York City Medical Examiner ruled Epstein died from a suicide by hanging.

In the interview, Mark Epstein took aim at Bill Barr, arguing the then-attorney general said his brother's death was a suicide after a pathologist said Jeffrey Epstein's death showed signs of a homicide rather than a suicide.

"Now supposedly, when [the initial death certificate] says 'pending further investigation,' it takes weeks to come up with a determination but yet a few days later, Attorney General Barr says it's suicide and it wasn't really his position to do that," Mark Epstein said.

Barr's law firm did not immediately respond to request for comment on Mark Epstein's remarks.

In the months that followed Jeffrey Epstein's death, Barr acknowledged he held initial suspicions about the death, but eventually placed the blame on a "perfect storm of screw-ups," including several irregularities at the facility where Epstein was being held.

The irregularities included alleged negligence from the two officers charged with watching Epstein, chronic staffing shortages and outbreaks of violence at the federal bureau of Prisons, The Associated Press reported.

Epstein was put on suicide watch weeks before his death after he was discovered on his cell floor with bruises on his neck. He was taken off the heightened watch about a week prior to his death, but was still checked every 30 minutes, the news service added.

“I can understand people who immediately, whose minds went to sort of the worst-case scenario because it was a perfect storm of screw-ups,” Barr told the AP in November, 2019.

Barr's remarks were an attempt to quash swirling conspiracy theories that Epstein did not take his own life — theories that continue to abound on social media.

At the time, Barr emphasized he watched the security footage himself and confirmed no one entered the area where Epstein was being held on the night of his death.

Pressed by Vittert on whether he believes Jeffrey Epstein's death was the result of "screw-ups" at the facility, Mark Epstein said: "No I don't. Yes, there were screw-ups but that doesn't mean that my brother...committed suicide because of screw-ups."

Mark Epstein claimed his brother "had dirt on people," and suggested foul play could've played a role. He later argued Barr appeared to be covering up details surrounding his brother's death.

No evidence suggesting such a cover-up has publicly surfaced.

A series of documents related to a legal defamation settlement reached by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former associate and girlfriend, and Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of his alleged victims, has been released over the last week, shining a public spotlight on the scandal.

Epstein died amid an investigation into a sex ring he allegedly ran in which young women and girls were paid for sex acts with Esptein and other men. Giuffre said she was a victim of abuse.

Despite speculation the documents would include a once-secret list of Epstein's rich "clients" or "co-conspirators," the first batch of documents mostly consisted of already public material, the AP reported.

A second batch of about 19 documents was unsealed last Thursday. The documents included mostly legal discussion and deposition over a previously settled civil suit against Maxwell.

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking in 2022 and remains in prison.