AP Sources: Epstein Jail Guards Had Been Offered Plea Deal

Federal prosecutors offered a plea deal to two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death, but the officers have declined the offer, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.The existence of the plea offer signals the Justice Department is considering criminal charges in connection with the wealthy financier’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August. The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide.

The guards on Epstein’s unit are suspected of failing to check on him every half hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to show they had. As part of the proposed plea deal, prosecutors wanted the guards to admit they falsified the prison records, according to the people familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss the investigation.

Court filings reveal Kyrsten Sinema had sex multiple times with married bodyguard while serving as senator

Justice Thomas reveals this elite institution is ‘off limits’ to him: ‘That’s the world we’re in’

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is a slog for the uninitiated

Military Identifies 2 Soldiers Killed in Texas Helicopter Crash Earlier This Week

Shooting Rocks University Campus as School Prepares for Classes to Resume

Companies Back Down After Red State AG’s Debanking Probe

He’s Baaaack: Platner Returns to Political Spotlight as His Replacement Deals with a Domestic Violence Allegation of His Own

Nearly One-in-Six Americans Have Acted on AI Medical Advice Without Speaking to Human, Poll Shows

Florida cold case suspect allegedly confesses to 1987 murder and reveals secret crime-scene details

Virginia State University shooting: At least 5 injured, one critically

ICYMI: Judge Shuts Down Democrats’ Attempt to Rush in Late Votes After Candidates Drop Out

Top Dem operative brushes off latest scandal plaguing Maine Senate candidate as ‘salacious gossip’

Lindsay Clancy murder trial becomes social media obsession as TikTokers, sleuths debate controversial case

Killer ex-cop executed for child’s slaying as sheriff says he’s sure same monster murdered another girl

Gun rights gets ‘greatest restoration’ in 100 years with latest Trump DOJ move, lawmaker hails

The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan had no comment on the plea offer. Both guards were working overtime because of staffing shortages. They have been placed on administrative leave while the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general investigate the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death. The 66-year-old had been awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls. Epstein was placed on suicide watch after he was found on his cell floor July 23 with bruises on his neck. Multiple people familiar with operations at the jail have said Epstein was then taken off suicide watch about a week before his death, meaning he was less closely monitored but still supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes.

Epstein’s death exposed mounting evidence that the chronically understaffed Metropolitan Correctional Center may have bungled its responsibility to keep him alive. Guards often work overtime day after day, and other employees are pressed into service as correctional officers. Falsification of records has been a problem throughout the federal prison system. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, who was named director of the Bureau of Prisons after Epstein’s death, disclosed in a Nov. 4 internal memo that a review of operations across the agency found some staff members failed to perform required rounds and inmate counts but logged that they had done so anyway. “Falsification of information in government systems and documents is also a violation of policy, and may be subject to criminal prosecution as well,” Hawk Sawyer wrote in the memo to top prison officials, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.