NEW YORK — Two weeks before killing himself, Jeffrey Epstein sat in the corner of his Manhattan jail cell with his hands over his ears, desperate to muffle the sound of a toilet that wouldn’t stop running.
Jeffrey Epstein appears in court July 30, 2008, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Epstein was agitated and unable to sleep, jail officials observed in records newly obtained by The Associated Press. He called himself a “coward” and complained he was struggling to adapt to life behind bars following his July 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges — his life of luxury reduced to a concrete and steel cage.
The disgraced financier was under psychological observation at the time for a suicide attempt just days earlier that left his neck bruised and scraped. Yet, even after a 31-hour stint on suicide watch, Epstein insisted he wasn't suicidal, telling a jail psychologist he had a “wonderful life” and “would be crazy” to end it.
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On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was dead.
Nearly four years later, the AP has obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents related to Epstein’s death from the federal Bureau of Prisons under the Freedom of Information Act. They include a detailed psychological reconstruction of the events leading to Epstein's suicide, as well as his health history, internal agency reports, emails, memos and other records.
Taken together, the documents provide the most complete accounting to date of Epstein's detention and death, and its chaotic aftermath. The records help to dispel the many conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's suicide, underscoring how fundamental failings at the Bureau of Prisons — including severe staffing shortages and employees cutting corners — contributed to Epstein's death.
The Metropolitan Correctional Center is seen in August 2019 in New York.
They shed new light on the federal prison agency's muddled response after Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the now-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.
In one email, a prosecutor involved in Epstein's criminal case complained about a lack of information from the Bureau of Prisons in the critical hours after his death, writing that it was “frankly unbelievable” that the agency was issuing public press releases "before telling us basic information so that we can relay it to his attorneys who can relay it to his family.”
The documents also provide a fresh window into Epstein's behavior during his 36 days in jail, including his previously unreported attempt to connect by mail with another high-profile pedophile: Larry Nassar, the U.S. gymnastics team doctor convicted of sexually abusing scores of athletes.
Epstein's letter to Nassar was found returned to sender in the jail’s mail room weeks after Epstein’s death. The letter was not among the documents turned over to the AP.
Epstein's death put increased scrutiny on the Bureau of Prisons and led the agency to close the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021. It spurred an AP investigation that uncovered deep, previously unreported problems within the agency, the Justice Department’s largest with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates and an $8 billion annual budget.
Epstein’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, said people detained at the facility endured “medieval conditions of confinement that no American defendant should have been subjected to.”
“It’s sad, it’s tragic, that it took this kind of event to finally cause the Bureau of Prisons to close this regrettable institution,” Weinberg said.
The workers tasked with guarding Epstein the night he killed himself, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, were charged with lying on prison records to make it seem as though they had made their required checks before Epstein was found lifeless. Epstein’s cellmate did not return after a court hearing the day before, and prison officials failed to pair another prisoner with him, leaving him alone.
Epstein
Prosecutors alleged they were sitting at their desks just 15 feet from Epstein’s cell, shopped online for furniture and motorcycles, and walked around the unit’s common area instead of making required rounds every 30 minutes.
Another investigation, by the Justice Department’s inspector general, is ongoing.
Epstein arrived at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on July 6, 2019. He spent 22 hours in the jail's general population before officials moved him to the special housing unit “due to the significant increase in media coverage and awareness of his notoriety among the inmate population,” according to the psychological reconstruction of his death.
Epstein later said he was upset about having to wear an orange jumpsuit provided to inmates in the special housing unit and complained about being treated like he was a “bad guy” despite being well behaved behind bars. He requested a brown uniform for his near-daily visits with his lawyers.
During an initial health screening, the 66-year-old said that he had 10-plus female sexual partners within the previous five years. Medical records showed he was suffering from sleep apnea, constipation, hypertension, lower back pain and prediabetes, and had been previously treated for chlamydia.
Epstein's outlook worsened when a judge denied him bail on July 18, 2019 — raising the prospect that he'd remain locked up until trial and possibly longer. If convicted, he faced up to 45 years prison. Four days later, Epstein was found on the floor of his cell with a strip of bedsheet around his neck.
Epstein survived. His injuries didn't require going to the hospital. He was placed on suicide watch and, later, psychiatric observation. Jail officers noted in logs that they observed him, “sitting at the edge of the bed, lost in thought,” and sitting “with his head against the wall.”
The day before Epstein killed himself, a federal judge unsealed about 2,000 pages of documents in a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. That development, prison officials observed, further eroded Epstein's previous elevated status.
That, combined with a lack of significant interpersonal connections and "the idea of potentially spending his life in prison were likely factors contributing to Mr. Epstein’s suicide,” officials wrote.
Who's who of Jeffrey Epstein's powerful friends, associates and possible co-conspirators
An ongoing investigation
FILE - This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said the investigation of Epstein's alleged conduct, including a conspiracy charge, remains ongoing, and Attorney General Bill Barr similarly said the case will continue against anyone who was complicit with Epstein.
"Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice and they will get it," Barr said.
In addition, Epstein's accusers asked a federal judge on Monday to invalidate the non-prosecution agreement that Epstein reached with prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office in Florida a decade ago, which would give authorities "greater power" to go after his alleged co-conspirators.
Given that ongoing investigation, CNN took a look at the notable figures connected to Epstein who have been named in sworn testimony, as well as the major political figures with ties to him.
Unnamed assistants
The federal indictment against Epstein says that he ran a trafficking enterprise in which he sexually abused dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005 at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida. He also paid some of his victims to recruit other victims, the document states.
He was charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, and he had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The indictment specifically alleges Epstein worked and conspired with employees and associates who facilitated his conduct by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with him.
The roles of three employees are laid out in the indictment, though they are not personally identified.
"Employee-1," based in New York, was directed by Epstein to communicate with victims to arrange their visits to his New York City mansion, the indictment says. This employee also sometimes asked the victim-recruiters to bring a specific underage girl for Epstein, the indictment states.
Annie Farmer, left, and Courtney Wild, right, accusers of Jeffrey Epstein, stand outside the courthouse in New York, Monday, July 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"Employee-2" and "Employee-3" were both assistants who worked for Epstein and both were also responsible for scheduling sexual encounters with victims ahead of his visits to his Palm Beach residence, according to the indictment.
It's unclear why the assistants were not named in the documents.
Other unnamed employees have similarly been noted in a draft version of a lawsuit that was expected to be filed by Jennifer Araoz, who said she was raped by Epstein when she was 15.
CNN usually does not name possible sexual misconduct victims, but is identifying Araoz because she came forward to speak publicly on a television news program and is named in the lawsuit draft.
Her draft complaint targeted Epstein as well as unidentified women called the "Recruiter," the "Secretary" and the "Maid," whom it dubs Jane Does 1, 2 and 3. The draft complaint said that the recruiter facilitated her "grooming" to be sexually assaulted by Epstein, and that the secretary and the maid would give her money after her visits to Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislane Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement in Spanish in which she expressed her family's gratitude to the Spanish authorities, aboard the "Lady Ghislaine" in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Nov. 7, 1991. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)
A series of documents unsealed last week accuse Ghislaine Maxwell, the British daughter of the late publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, of assisting Epstein in his sexual abuse.
At the heart of the documents are allegations Virginia Roberts Giuffre made in a 2015 defamation case. Giuffre said Epstein kept her as a "sex slave" and that he was assisted by Maxwell. Testimony from another woman in those documents also alleged abuse at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell.
The case was settled in 2017.
An attorney for Maxwell did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Friday. Maxwell and her representatives have previously denied she engaged in sexual abuse or sex trafficking.
In the court filings, Maxwell and her attorney portray Giuffre as an unreliable narrator, pointing to errors in certain dates and figures she provided. Giuffre has said the errors were mistakes.
David Boies, an attorney for Giuffre, said Friday that her lawsuit "exposed for prosecutors, and now the public, the scope and scale and ugliness of the Epstein/Maxwell sex trafficking ring."
Les Wexner
In this Sept. 19, 2014 file photo, retail mogul Leslie Wexner, right, and his wife Abigail tour the "Transfigurations" exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
Epstein's longtime associate was Les Wexner, the CEO and founder of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. After Epstein's arrest on federal charges last month, Wexner acknowledged that Epstein was his former personal money manager and that he served as a trustee of the Wexner Foundation, the CEO's charitable group.
He said he severed ties with Epstein 12 years ago and denied knowledge of his criminal behavior.
"I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people," Wexner wrote in a letter to L Brands employees. "My heart goes out to each and every person who has been hurt."
Their connections ran deep, and Wexner gave Epstein "sweeping powers over his finances, philanthropy and private life," The New York Times reported.
Epstein even tried to get involved in the recruitment of models for Victoria's Secret's popular catalog, the Times reported. That troubled executives at the company, which used talent agencies to scout models. Wexner was alerted by executives and reportedly said he would handle the issue, but Epstein's involvement in trying to attract models continued, the Times reported.
L Brands' spokesperson said the board of directors has "engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough review" at their direction.
"While Mr. Epstein served as Mr. Wexner's personal money manager for a period that ended nearly 12 years ago, we do not believe he was ever employed by nor served as an authorized representative of the company," an L Brands (LB) spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Wexner has accused Epstein of misappropriating "vast sums of money" from him and his family, according to a letter to Wexner Foundation members. Wexner told members of his Ohio-based charitable group that he discovered the missing funds after cutting ties with Epstein in 2007.
"This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now," said the letter, which was not signed by Wexner or dated.
One of Epstein's accusers said Epstein sexually assaulted her in Wexner's home, according to an affidavit filed in a New York court in April as part of a defamation lawsuit against attorney Alan Dershowitz.
Alan Dershowitz
Attorney Alan Dershowitz attends the world premiere of "Knife Fight" during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Giuffre has accused Dershowitz, the high-profile attorney who was part of the legal team that negotiated Epstein's 2007 plea deal, of sexually abusing her.
Dershowitz has denied her claims and accused her of fabricating the allegations against him. He said in a statement that Friday's release of documents "categorically proves that Virginia Roberts (Giuffre) never had sex with me."
In April, she filed a separate defamation lawsuit against him, saying that he made "false and malicious" statements about her when he accused her of lying in making her accusations against him.
That case is ongoing, and Dershowitz has filed a motion to dismiss.
Prince Andrew
Britain's Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II, prepares to leave the aircraft carrier Ark Royal for the final time as a serving officer, after a 22-year military career, off Newcastle-upon-Tyne July 30, 2001. (AP Photo/John Giles)
Giuffre has said that Epstein forced her to perform sex acts with a number of prominent men, including Prince Andrew, Duke of York, in 2001. In addition, another woman who said Epstein and Maxwell abused her said she was forced into sexual acts with Prince Andrew at Epstein's Upper East Side mansion, where Giuffre participated as well, according to the unsealed documents.
In response, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: "This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which The Duke of York is not a party. Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue."
In a statement to CNN last month, the spokesperson said, "The Duke of York accepts it was unwise to have met Mr. Epstein in December 2010. The Duke has not met with Mr. Epstein since."
Donald Trump and Bill Clinton
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, right, speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, July 12, 2019, before Trump boards Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. and then on to Wisconsin. Trump says Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to step down, move comes in wake of handling of Jeffrey Epstein case. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Among Epstein's powerful associates are presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
"I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy," Trump told New York magazine in 2002. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life."
However, on July 12, Trump said that he threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club years ago.
"Jeffrey Epstein was not somebody that I respected. I threw him out. In fact I think the great James Patterson, who's a member of Mar-a-Lago, made a statement yesterday, that many years ago I threw him out. I'm not a fan of Jeffrey Epstein," he said.
A spokesman for Clinton said in a statement last month that the former president took four trips on Epstein's airplane in 2002 and 2003. The statement said they also had one meeting in a Harlem office in 2002 and that Clinton made a brief visit to Epstein's New York apartment with a Secret Service detail.
"President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York," Clinton's spokesman, Angel Ureña, said in a statement posted to Twitter.
"He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade," the statement adds, "and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida."
Former President Bill Clinton gestures as he speaks at a VH-1 Save The Music event Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Bill Richardson and George Mitchell
Former Sen. George Mitchell testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Finally, the documents unsealed on Friday in Giuffre's lawsuit against Maxwell include allegations that Giuffre was instructed by Maxwell to have sex with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, among others.
In a statement Friday, Mitchell called the claim false, adding: "I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms. Giuffre."
A spokeswoman for Richardson called Giuffre's allegation "completely false."
"To be clear, in Governor Richardson's limited interactions with Mr. Epstein, he never saw him in the presence of young or underage girls," spokeswoman Madeleine Mahony said. "Governor Richardson has never been to Mr. Epstein's residence in the Virgin Islands. Governor Richardson has never met Ms. Giuffre."
** FILE ** In this Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 file photo, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson addresses the Democratic National Convention in Denver. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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