AP Source: Epstein jail guards suspected of falsifying logs

Jail guards are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates in Jeffrey Epstein's unit every half hour when they actually weren't, according to a person familiar with the probe into his death.

Surveillance video reviewed after the 66-year-old financier's suspected suicide over the weekend shows guards never made some of the checks noted in the log, according to the person familiar with the investigation.

The person wasn't authorized to disclose information and spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

The development comes as the federal jail in Manhattan where Epstein was being held comes under increasing scrutiny in the wake of Epstein's suicide. Epstein is believed to have killed himself early Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial in a sex trafficking case.

An autopsy was performed Sunday, but the manner in which Epstein killed himself has not been officially announced. The city's chief medical examiner said investigators were awaiting further information.

His death prompted the Justice Department to place two guards assigned to watch Epstein on administrative leave and temporarily reassign the jail's warden 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, the jail's parent agency that was already facing criticism.

Earlier this week, Barr said the Justice Department has already found "serious irregularities" at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, adding that the facility "failed to adequately secure...