Attorney General William Barr says Jeffrey Epstein’s death was the result of a “perfect storm of screw-ups.”
Barr’s comments in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press come days after two correctional officers responsible for guarding Epstein were charged with falsifying prison records.
Officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas are accused of sleeping and browsing the internet instead of checking on Epstein, who killed himself in his cell in August. The wealthy financier was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The indictment against the officers is a damning glimpse of safety lapses inside a high-security unit at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
A lawyer for Thomas has said both guards are being “scapegoated.”