Sex Predator Jeffrey Epstein Was ‘Murdered’ in Jail, Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Claims
11:56 GMT 11.06.2022 (Updated: 13:10 GMT 11.06.2022)
© AP Photo / New York State Sex Offender Registry
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Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-profile ties, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Despite authorities ruling he died by “apparent suicide”, his death has spawned a number of conspiracy theories.
Chelsea Manning, an American whistleblower who came to fame after disclosing hundreds of thousands of sensitive military data to WikiLeaks, is in no doubt as to the fate of the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
"Murder, that's how a prison murder happens. I know. That stuff happens. Some of theses stories are in my book… You wanna get rid of someone in prison? That's how you do it," Manning stated during an appearance on the 10 January episode of After Dark by h3h3 Productions.
An unresponsive Epstein was found in his cell by prison guards on 10 August 2019. He had been awaiting a trial on federal conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges.
The tycoon’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but despite the official verdict, the incident spawned numerous conspiracy theories. Many questioned the decision to take him off suicide watch, just a week after he apparently tried to take his own life on 23 July.
Epstein had been reportedly removed from constant surveillance six days later at the request of his attorneys.
Furthermore, Epstein was meant to have a cellmate, but was left alone after his cellmate was transferred out of the correctional centre on 9 August, the day before his death. Subsequently, then-US Attorney General William Barr said there were “serious irregularities” at the New York jail where Epstein was being held.
Throughout his life, the hedge fund manager cultivated close relationships with some of the world’s most powerful men, including billionaires such as Leslie Wexner, politicians such as former president Bill Clinton and even royals, such as Prince Andrew.
Epstein’s demise ruled out the possibility of a trial that might have shone the spotlight on prominent figures.
When prompted by podcast hosts Ethan and Hila Klein - an Israeli husband and wife podcasting team who run h3h3 Productions - US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Edward Manning, based her opinion of the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death on her own experience.
The whistleblower who revealed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan was tried and sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 but was released in 2017 when outgoing US President Barack Obama commuted her sentence. Manning was imprisoned again in March 2019 after refusing to testify before a Grand Jury about links to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange but was once again released in March 2020, getting off with a $256,000 fine.
"I just gotta' say, time and time again - the most violent people in the prison are the prison guards - every single time. Just endless amounts of fear and anxiety of what a correctional guard of any variety was going to do. It haunts me to say, I don't associate the prison uniform with violence, but I see the CO uniform and it's different," said the trans woman.
Manning, who attempted to end her life while in Virginia's Alexandria Detention Center a day before she was due to appear in court regarding a 19 February motion for her release, added:
"I would say that there's the rule of thirds. There are guards who care, they think they are doing a service and they try to be fair - it's a fast turnover rate. Then there are the guards who look the other way, treat it as a paycheck. Then there's the sadistic ones, the ones who play games and lie and cheat and steal, and get away with it. The other third who look the other way, don't do anything."
All book publishers engage in hyperbole, but Macmillan touting Chelsea Manning's untitled 272-page memoir (coming this fall) as "one of the definitive testaments of the digital age" is a mighty steep hill to climb. pic.twitter.com/6rkFUHO7xl
— Chelsea Manning's War (@ManningsWar) March 10, 2022
Chelsea Manning, who after her release earned a living through speaking engagements, is set to release a memoir later this year which has yet to be named.
