Misconduct by federal jail guards led to Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, DOJ watchdog says
PBS NewsHourMAY 2023
FBI Chiefs Suggest Epstein Death Was Suicide
Above: Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2025. Image copyright: Nathan Howard/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
While this case was certainly high-profile and riddled with systemic failures, the conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death should now come to a close. Even Bongino and Patel, who were once very skeptical of the official narrative, have acknowledged it was a suicide after reviewing all the files. What everyone can agree on, however, is that the federal prison system must make some serious changes.
Establishment-critical narrative
Bongino and Patel didn't change their minds after seeing some new files; they just said what they're supposed to say when you work at the FBI. There were far too many coincidences the day he died — his cellmate moving the day before, the guards falling asleep, the cameras malfunctioning, and other prisoners hearing Epstein screaming — to believe the official narrative.