FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino recently doubled down on their claims that child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in August 2019.
During a Sunday interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo Patel and Bongino discussed Epstein and other issues going on at the FBI. “You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide,” Bartiromo said. “People don’t believe it.”
Patel responded, saying doubters “have a right to their opinion,” but explained why they came to that conclusion. “As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who's been in that prison system, who's been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who's been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was,” he said.
Bongino chimed in, “He killed himself. Again … I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”
REPORTER: "You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. People don't believe it."
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 18, 2025
PATEL: "They have a right to their opinion but...you know a suicide when you see one, & that's what that was."
BONGINO: "He killed himself. I've seen the whole file. He killed himself." pic.twitter.com/pduX7bU9AF
Patel reiterated that he had reviewed all the evidence before coming to his conclusion. I”m not going to tell people what they want to hear,” he said. “I'm going to tell you the truth.”
“And whether you like it or not is up to you. I there was a big explosive ‘there’ there … we would have told you,” Patel added.
In a lengthy Sunday post on X, Bongino confirmed that Epstein had taken his own life, contrary to what many have speculated over recent years.
I was asked about some of the details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There’s no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise. I’m not asking you to believe me, or not. I’m telling you what exists, and what doesn’t. If new evidence surfaces I’m happy to reevaluate.
I haven’t done any media interviews to this point because I want to keep the attention on the work. I don’t work for myself anymore, I work for you.
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 18, 2025
But it is important to relay to you what we’re doing, and the media can be a tool for that. That’s why we chose a long-form…
There were several details that cast doubt on the narrative that Epstein committed suicide. For starters, there were significant lapses related to the prison guards and security measures. Epstein was left alone without a cellmate despite having attempted suicide previously. The guards failed to check on the inmate; one of them actually admitted to falling asleep on duty.
Moreover, two of the security cameras malfunctioned on the night Epstein died. One of the others contained unusable footage, which caused some to suspect that someone had tampered with it. Other footage showing his death was found, but later deleted because of a supposed clerical error.
An autopsy revealed a broken hyoid bone and neck injuries. Forensic pathologist Michael Baden argued these injuries were more consistent with homicide than suicide.
At this point, we may never know the truth surrounding Epstein’s death. It’s possible he could have killed himself because he was threatened or otherwise coerced into doing so. Perhaps someone else did the deed. Or, it might be exactly as it appeared: Epstein killed himself to avoid accountability for his crimes.
But at this point, I think MAGA and others are more concerned with his client list than the details of his demise. So far, there is no telling if the nation will ever know who used Epstein’s sordid services.