Jeffrey Epstein dies in apparent suicide in New York jail

Wealthy financier, 66, had been accused of sex trafficking and was being held without bail after being arrested on 6 July

Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein has killed himself at a New York jail, according to authorities in New York and media reports.

“Saturday, August 10, 2019, at approximately 6.30am, inmate Jeffrey Edward Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell … subsequently pronounced dead by hospital staff,” reads a statement from the Metropolitan Correctional Center where Epstein, 66, had been held without bail since his arrest on 6 July on charges of sex trafficking girls as young as 14.

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Prince Andrew groped young woman’s breast at Epstein house, court files allege

  • Prince accused of touching young woman’s breast
  • Allegation contained within files in Ghislaine Maxwell case

Prince Andrew was accused in court documents of touching a young woman’s breast at the Manhattan mansion of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier now facing federal sex trafficking charges in New York.

The allegation was contained within a tranche of just unsealed court papers in a defamation case involving Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and media heiress accused of procuring underage girls for Epstein and his social circle of the rich, famous and powerful.

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Jeffrey Epstein: large tranche of files released in Ghislaine Maxwell lawsuit

Files made public in case of British socialite may contain extra details of allegations against Epstein and his political connections

A large tranche of documents released on Friday from a lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell – who allegedly procured girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein – contains both lurid claims and denials of world leaders’ involvement in his alleged sex trafficking.

Virginia Giuffre, who is among Epstein’s many accusers, sued Maxwell in 2015, alleging the British socialite and daughter of the former media tycoon Robert Maxwell defamed her by claiming she was a liar in her accusations against Maxwell and Epstein.

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Jeffrey Epstein found unconscious in jail cell, say reports

Financier facing charges of sex trafficking was found injured, sources say

Jeffrey Epstein, the financier facing charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls, was found unconscious in a Manhattan jail cell with injuries to his neck, US media reported late on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

Epstein was found by guards sprawled on the floor of cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Wednesday, media reported.

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Jeffrey Epstein: Florida looks at possible lax monitoring after 2008 plea deal

  • Epstein joined program that gave him time away from jail
  • Officials: ‘All aspects of the matter will be fully investigated’

Authorities in Florida have launched an investigation into whether the financier Jeffrey Epstein was properly monitored during a 13-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from underage girls, the product of a controversial 2008 deal with federal authorities.

Related: The Jeffrey Epstein scandal - podcast

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Footage of Trump and Epstein together at a party in 1992 emerges

Video from the NBC archive shows Trump making friendly conversation with Epstein and pointing out women

Footage of a friendly exchange between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at a November 1992 party has surfaced after the president tried to distance himself from the wealthy financier who was arrested earlier this month for the alleged sex trafficking of minors.

Related: Jeffrey Epstein: how US media – with one star exception – whitewashed the story

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Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid Epstein plea deal scandal – live

Acosta was under fire for having granted Jeffrey Epstein immunity from federal prosecution in 2008, following sex trafficking ring investigation

Another big House vote this afternoon.

With a 402-12 vote, Congress approved a bill that would ensure funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

Jon Stewart says he looks forward to signing ceremony for bill funding 9/11 first responders compensation fund: "We'll all be here for that one final moment—not of celebration, but of relief. Let them exhale." https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/p7PI4cLDOc

The House has just voted to limit Trump’s authority to make war in Iran as part of a bill which also restricts the president’s budget request for the Pentagon.

Republicans joined the majority Democrats for a 251-170 vote.

Trump said last month he believes he does not need congressional approval to strike Iran. The vote Friday amounted to a pointed and bipartisan rebuttal — led by strange ideological bedfellows, Representatives Ro Khanna, a liberal Democrat from California, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most strident Republican allies in Congress.

“When this passes, it will be a clear statement from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that this country is tired of endless wars, that we do not want another war in the Middle East,” Khanna said before the amendment vote.

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Acosta resignation: ‘I hate to see this happen,’ says Trump – video

The US labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, is resigning following criticism of his handling of a plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. Donald Trump announced the news on Friday with Acosta by his side before the president left on a trip to the midwest

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Alex Acosta resigns as US labor secretary following Epstein plea deal scandal

Acosta is stepping down following criticism of his handling of a 2008 plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein, who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges

Donald Trump’s labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, has resigned following criticism of his handling of a 2008 plea deal with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls.

Trump announced the news on Friday with Acosta by his side at the White House. “Alex Acosta is a great secretary of labor,” Trump said. “I hate to see this happen.” He said he did not ask Acosta to leave the cabinet.

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Jeffrey Epstein asks to be released on bail while awaiting sex trafficking trial

Epstein’s lawyers argued that home confinement and electronic monitoring would be enough to ensure that he does not flee

Disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein has asked a federal judge to let him out of jail and allow him to remain under house arrest as he awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls.

In a filing in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, Epstein’s lawyers argued that home confinement, along with electronic monitoring, surveillance and a bond secured by a mortgage on his $77m Manhattan mansion would be enough to ensure that he does not flee the country.

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Labor secretary Acosta defends Epstein plea deal amid calls for resignation

The former US attorney claims the deal secured a greater penalty for Epstein than state officials otherwise would have managed

The embattled labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, on Wednesday defended the terms of a non-prosecution agreement he made 10 years ago with the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time stood accused of sexually abusing underage girls.

Epstein was arrested at the weekend and charged anew in New York, on two counts of sex trafficking for allegedly abusing, manipulating and paying off dozens of young women and girls, some as young as 14. He pleaded not guilty.

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Judge blocks justice department from changing lawyers in US census case – as it happened

In what experts called a troubling move, the agency had announced over the weekend that it was appointing a new team of lawyers

Wrapping up tonight’s live politics coverage. Here’s an updated summary of the day’s key developments from today’s bloggers, Lois Beckett and Sabrina Siddiqui.

Early today, billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer formally launched his campaign for president.

The reaction from some progressives has not been positive.

if i were a liberal billionaire with a $100 millions to burn i'd spend it on a nationwide voter registration drive instead of a vanity presidential campaign

hiring and training thousands of people to identify and register nonvoters and bring them to the polls is probably the single most effective thing you could do ahead of 2020 but then i'm not a billionaire hedge fund manager

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