Mark Epstein, the brother of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has spoken about the final time the two spoke before Jeffrey was taken into custody.
Jeffrey Epstein died at the age of 66 in August 2019, with a coroner later determining he died by suicide.
In recent months, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released millions of files tied to Epstein, prompting renewed attention on his life and the events surrounding his arrest and death.
While Epstein’s relatives have largely avoided public attention, Mark Epstein recently discussed their last contact, which took place shortly before Jeffrey was arrested on sex trafficking charges.
“I did not speak to Jeffrey after he was arrested. While he was in jail, I didn’t speak to him. The last conversation I had with Jeffrey was the night before he got arrested.
“He was in Paris and he flew home the next day, and he got arrested. So when he called me, it was a Thursday night. It was just a normal brother to brother, you know, what’s new kind of telephone call. And he was fine.”
Epstein was later found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, while he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Before his death, he had been placed on suicide watch after an incident on July 23, 2019, in which he attempted to take his own life. Epstein alleged at the time that his cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione — who is imprisoned on murder charges — tried to kill him.
This week, Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, appeared before a congressional committee on Thursday (February 26) as part of an investigation connected to Epstein.
In her opening remarks, she said she had been unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
“I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.”
She then reiterated that point again.
“I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his homes, I never went to his offices. So it’s on the record numerous times.”
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