As attorney general, William Barr personally investigated Jeffrey Epstein's death. Now Congress has questions. [View all]

Source: CBS News

August 18, 2025 / 6:00 AM EDT


In the hours after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan detention cell, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr pledged to intervene personally to lead the investigation into Epstein's death. Among the first to arrive at the Metropolitan Correctional Center soon after Epstein's death in August 2019 were members of Barr's senior staff.

The visit to the federal detention center by senior members of the attorney general's staff was highly unusual, a source who was there at the time and witnessed the visit told CBS News. But so was the death in custody of such a controversial figure. One source didn't recall ever seeing members of the attorney general's senior staff investigate an inmate death in more than 20 years. Another source, involved in the investigation, said such senior visits were rare, and if they occurred, usually pertained to promoting correctional programs, not investigating inmate deaths.

Barr's involvement extended to a personal review of the approximately 11 hours of jail surveillance footage from the night of Epstein's death. He said in an interview with The Associated Press three months later that it showed no one had entered the area where Epstein was housed, and he concurred with the conclusion of the medical examiner: Epstein had died by suicide.

Last month, after the FBI made that video public, an analysis by CBS News identified inconsistencies between Barr's description of the video and what it actually showed — including whether it really proves no one else entered the cell block. Now, Barr is scheduled to appear on Monday on Capitol Hill, where he will be questioned behind closed doors by members of Congress conducting a review of the Epstein matter. Sources familiar with the oversight committee's plans tell CBS News they will be asking questions about Barr's involvement in the death investigation.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-william-barr-deposition-congress/

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Heard about this earlier this morning on the radio. Barr is supposed to testify today (behind closed doors). They will probably try to drown it our with 45's rantings against Zelenskyy and the various EU leaders.