Trump tells Tucker Carlson he believes Jeffrey Epstein's death likely a suicide

Former President Donald Trump recently weighed in on the curious – and still controversial – death of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in a Manhattan prison cell, and though many suspected that the disgraced financier was the victim of a murder, the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful said he believes the death was likely the result of a suicide, as Breitbart reports.

Trump's comments on the topic were made as part of his wide-ranging interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which was released on the X social media platform shortly before the initial GOP primary debate of the election cycle commenced in Milwaukee.

The subject arose when Carlson inquired about Trump's take on Epstein's demise while in custody and awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, asking whether he believed the infamous figure could have been murdered.

The former president replied, “Oh, sure. It's possible. I mean, I don't really believe – I think he probably committed suicide. Trump continued, “He had a life with you know, beautiful homes and beautiful everything and he all of a sudden he's incarcerated and not doing very well.”

On the question of whether Epstein's death was a suicide, Trump added, “I would say that he did, but there are those people – there are many people, I think you're one of them – but a lot of people think that he was killed.”

Referencing the reason for those lingering suspicions, Trump declared that Epstein “knew a lot on a lot of people.”

Carlson, for his part, made no bones about his opinion on Epstein's death, saying, “he was killed” and adding his belief that former Attorney General Bill Barr “clearly lied” about the event in a later account of what occurred.

Seemingly hoping to move swiftly into a different realm of discussion, Trump said of Epstein's period of incarceration, “Certainly, it wasn't well done. They had no cameras, they had no anything, everybody was sleeping, and you know, a case could be made.”

Doing his best to demur and shift gears, Trump added, “Look, I'm not gonna get involved in it, but I can tell you, a case could be made either way, but it certainly wasn't the most well-run place.”

Despite his recent personal difficulties with the Department of Justice, Trump's assessment of the Epstein case appears largely in sync with the agency's official determinations following a formal review that was chronicled in an extensive report released earlier this summer.

As NBC News noted back in June, the DOJ inspector general found that there was insufficient evidence found that would have contradicted earlier formal conclusions that Epstein had indeed killed himself.

Rather, a domino effect of negligence, mistakes, and misconduct on the part of Bureau of Prisons employees permitted the infamous inmate to dodge what should have been constant custodial supervision and successfully take his own life in his cell.

IG Michael Horowitz issued a statement noting that the “combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures documented in today's report all contributed to an environment in which arguably one of the most notorious prison inmates in BOP's custody was left unmonitored and alone in his cell with an excess of prison linens, thereby providing him with the opportunity to take his own life.”

Echoing the sentiments of many who followed the Epstein saga as it began making its way through the justice system, Horowitz's statement added that the regrettable situation at the prison “effectively deprived Epstein's numerous victims of the opportunity to seek justice.”