FILE- In this July 30, 2008 file photo, Jeffrey Epstein appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla. Epstein has died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, says person briefed on the matter, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Palm Beach Post, Uma Sanghvi, File)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the aftermath of Jeffrey Epstein's death (all times local):
2:35 p.m.
The Justice Department says two guards assigned to watch Jeffrey Epstein when he killed himself in jail have been placed on administrative leave.
The department says in a statement Tuesday that the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center has also been temporarily reassigned to an office post pending the outcome of two investigations. Both the FBI and the Justice Department's inspector general are investigating Epstein's death.
Attorney General William Barr has expressed outrage that Epstein was able to take his own life Saturday while under the care of the federal Bureau of Prisons while the inmate was facing sex trafficking charges.
The Justice Department says the warden of another facility in upstate New York has been named the acting warden at MCC. The Department says it will take additional personnel action as warranted.
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12:40 p.m.
A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee says the Justice Department should "rip up" a decade-old plea agreement that protects some of Jeffrey Epstein's associates from being prosecuted for their alleged role in supplying him with teenage girls.
The 2008 deal allowed Epstein to avoid a lengthy prison sentence by pleading guilty to lesser state charges. It also shields several of his associates from prosecution.
Federal prosecutors said when they charged Epstein that the Florida deal doesn't apply to prosecutors in New York.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who heads the panel's oversight subcommittee, asked Attorney General William Barr to confirm it is no longer binding following Epstein's suicide.
A Justice Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity says Barr has recused himself from any review of the 2008 plea deal involved in the federal investigation into Epstein.
-By Michael Balsamo
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12:10 a.m.
Amid revelations about Jeffrey Epstein's death, authorities have intensified inquiries into what went wrong at the jail and who could still face charges in his case.
A person familiar with the matter says Epstein was supposed to have been checked on by a guard about every 30 minutes. But investigators have learned those checks weren't done for several hours before Epstein was found Saturday.
That person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Additionally, Serene Gregg, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3148, tells The Washington Post that one of the guards assigned to Epstein's unit wasn't a correctional officer, but a fill-in who had been pressed into service.
In the criminal case, authorities are seemingly turning their attention to those who knew about Epstein's penchant for underage girls.
FILE - This July 25, 2013, file image provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows financier Jeffrey Epstein. Officials say the FBI and U.S. Inspector General's office will investigate how Epstein died in an apparent suicide, while the probe into sexual abuse allegations against the well-connected financier remains ongoing. A person familiar with the matter says Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, had been taken off suicide watch before he killed himself Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in a New York jail. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein has died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, says person briefed on the matter, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this July 15, 2019 courtroom artist's sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, left, and his attorney Martin Weinberg listen during a bail hearing in federal court, in New York. Officials say the FBI and U.S. Inspector General's office will investigate how Epstein died in an apparent suicide, while the probe into sexual abuse allegations against the well-connected financier remains ongoing. A person familiar with the matter says Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, had been taken off suicide watch before he killed himself Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in a New York jail. (Elizabeth Williams via AP, File)
The Associated Press
New York City medical examiner personnel leave their vehicle and walk to the Manhattan Correctional Center where financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, Saturday Aug. 10, 2019, in New York. Epstein was found in his cell at the facility Saturday morning, according to the officials, who was briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly. The medical examiner's office in Manhattan confirmed Epstein's death. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
This July 1, 2019 photo shows the Manhattan Correctional Center, in New York. Financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York, a former law enforcement official said Saturday. He was found in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center Saturday morning, according to the officials, who was briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnât authorized to discuss it publicly. The medical examinerâs office in Manhattan confirmed Epsteinâs death. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The Associated Press