William Barr

Background

William Pelham Barr was born in New York City in 1950. He attended Columbia University and George Washington University Law School. He served in various roles in the CIA and Justice Department before becoming U.S. Attorney General for the first time under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. He returned to private legal practice and corporate law before being nominated again as Attorney General by President Trump, confirmed in February 2019.

Barr’s second tenure as AG was marked by significant controversy, including his handling of the Mueller report on Russian election interference, his interventions in the Roger Stone sentencing, and his ultimate public break with Trump over claims of widespread 2020 election fraud.

Connection to Epstein

Barr was serving as Attorney General when Epstein was arrested by the Southern District of New York on July 6, 2019, and when Epstein was found dead in his MCC cell on August 10, 2019. The DOJ, through the Bureau of Prisons, was responsible for Epstein’s security and custody.

Barr ordered an immediate investigation into the circumstances of Epstein’s death by the FBI and DOJ Inspector General. He publicly stated that his initial reaction was that there had been “serious irregularities” at MCC and that he found the circumstances “troubling.” He later stated at an October 2019 press conference that after reviewing the evidence he had come to “accept that the autopsy… supports the conclusion” that Epstein died by suicide.

Barr’s family connection to Epstein’s career has attracted occasional commentary: his father, Donald Barr, was headmaster of the Dalton School in New York in the early 1970s and was involved in hiring Jeffrey Epstein as a math teacher at the school before Epstein had completed his college degree. This connection is historical and does not imply any current relationship.

Aftermath

Barr resigned as Attorney General in December 2020. The investigation into Epstein’s death at MCC and the security failures that enabled it remained ongoing through his tenure without producing criminal convictions. The charges against the two guards on duty were ultimately dropped in 2021. Barr has continued to maintain that the evidence supported a suicide determination.