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.

Seven Christians Killed, Dozens More Wounded in ‘Heinous’ Attack on Church in Jordan

GOP Congressman Set to Initiate Expulsion Process for ‘Ilhan Omar’ Based on DOJ Findings

Ilhan Omar doubles down on ‘real name’ when confronted at Mall of Somalia

Ilhan Omar calls Trump ‘creep’ as president revives ‘fake name,’ marriage allegations

Meghan Markle’s Statement Triggers Internal Police Investigation Amid ‘Disturbing Allegations’ Against Her Father

Watch: Kamala Harris Turns Back the Clock to 2024, Confuses Crowd with Jumbled Motivational Quote That She Has to Repeat

‘Can’t trust Amy Acton’: Viral ad distracts from what’s really at stake in critical race, GOP strategist says

Federal judge kicked off ‘botch job’ anti-DEI case after stunning appeals court rebuke

Trump says judge is ‘desecrating’ Charlie Kirk’s memory amid fight over assassination trial date

Treasury traces SPLC to debanking of Christians after group dismissed it as conspiracy

Mass shooting at Jordanian church kills at least seven and wounds dozens

Polish Left pushing abortion liberalization through parliament despite looming presidential veto

Emmy-winning TV producer charged with stalking ex-wife, longtime news anchor, days after divorce

LeBron James Brushes Off Trump Criticizing His Disrespectful National Anthem Antics

Two Former Top FBI Officials Arrested in Connection with Hunter Biden Investigation

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.