In a rare moment of bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., Republican and Democratic Senators are calling on the Department of Justice Inspector General to finish his investigation into pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
"Epstein’s death in federal custody represents a colossal failure by the Department of Justice. As the kingpin of a child sex trafficking ring, Epstein possessed unique insight into the crimes of his friends and associates. That knowledge died with him, making it significantly harder to prosecute his co-conspirators. These wealthy and powerful men raped innocent children, and it is an outrage that the Department’s inability to keep Epstein alive after a previous apparent suicide attempt makes it less likely that these monsters can be brought to justice. The pain that this inflicts on these survivors is difficult to fathom," Republican Senators Ben Sasse, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Richard Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz. "Moreover, these events have ignited a crisis of public trust in the Department and exacerbated the erosion of trust that the American people have in our institutions of republican self-government more broadly. The Department’s abject failure in this high-profile situation raises serious concerns about its ability to protect and secure inmates in the many cases that do not make the news. Enough delay. The public needs answers."
In November, Director of the Bureau of Prisons Kathleen Hawk Sawyer testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and provided no answers to questions about how Epstein, the most high profile prisoner in the country, was able to "kill himself." Epstein was left unguarded in his Manhattan prison cell. Sawyer repeatedly cited an ongoing investigation by Horowitz as the reason she could not comment on the case.
"The IG’s office has an important oversight duty, and it cannot be used by others in the bureaucracy as a shield against calls for transparency. While we recognize that thorough investigations cannot be completed overnight, more than three months have passed since Epstein’s death and the initiation of your investigation," the letter continues. "We therefore write to you today to ask that you devote whatever resources that are within your purview to completing this investigation as expeditiously as possible. Moreover, we ask that you brief us this week on the status of the investigation and the expected timeline of its completion and public release."
While Epstein's death has been officially ruled as a suicide, other experts believe homicide shouldn't be ruled out and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio has repeatedly said the situation "doesn't add up."
