Attorney David Schoen, who says deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein “trusted” him “with his life,” discussed Tuesday on NewsNation seeing the billionaire in the last few days before his death and expressed his doubts about the suicide ruling.
Schoen appeared on “Cuomo” to discuss his interactions with the disgraced billionaire, honing in on the last days he had seen Epstein prior to his death. The attorney stated Epstein had been in touch with him up to 12 years prior to his death, contacting him “through a mutual friend” to discuss “some advice before he went to jail.”
Schoen then hadn’t heard “much” from Epstein until the “year before he died,” emphasizing the billionaire had started to contact him “regularly to review his lawyer’s work.” Schoen went on to state Epstein had asked him to “take over all of his litigation,” to which he declined and only continued to advise him. (RELATED: Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre ‘Never Saw’ Trump ‘Participate’ In Anything Involving Jeffrey Epstein, Docs Show)
Schoen stated Epstein’s “in-house counsel” then kept calling him and that Epstein had said Schoen was the “only person” the billionaire “trusted with his life.” The attorney recalled his meeting nine days prior to Epstein’s death and the plan to potentially take over Epstein’s case.
“During the next couple of weeks, his in-house counsel kept calling me, saying Epstein kept asking to see me. I was very flattered, quite frankly, that he said to me, ‘I was the only person in the world Epstein trusted with his life.’ And I finally agreed to see him,” Schoen stated.
“So anyway, I agreed to see him. I saw him August 1st — spent about five hours with him,” Schoen stated. “Finally, he and I met by ourselves. We were interrupted by a prison psychologist or psychiatrist who wanted to meet with him. They had a nice meeting for five or 10 minutes and I came back. We discussed strategy going forward — if I were to take over the case … I had already put together a team of my own because I understood from the in-house lawyer that Epstein wanted me to take over the case and fight it for him. I said, ‘I’m willing to do it.'”
The attorney then listed two reasons why he believed there was a “possibility” that Epstein “didn’t commit suicide,” highlighting a conversation he had with the pedophile’s “local lawyer” and a task he was given by the billionaire himself. Schoen additionally noted pathologist Michael Baden, who looked at Epstein autopsy after being hired by the billionaire’s family. (RELATED: Judge Loretta Preska Orders Epstein Island Images To Be Redacted After Court Accidentally Releases Them)
“I have said publicly that I think there’s a possibility that he didn’t commit suicide and that he was killed,” Schoen stated. “I base it on two things. Anecdotally, I met with him nine days before he died. We had a strategy to fight the case. He was as excited as I could imagine. That next day one of his local lawyers called me and told me how excited he was — asked me if I would take over the bail appeal.”
“Epstein gave me a task to do that had nothing to do with the case. But more ordered to his financial affairs that had no point other than looking forward. The day before he died, I was told by the people who met with him that he was giving instructions based on the strategy we had come up with. That doesn’t sound like someone who would commit suicide the next day, but it happens.”
“This only other thing I base it on is my dealings with Michael Baden,” Schoen stated. “I consider him to be the foremost forensic pathologist in the world … But in any event, he has told me, and he said publicly, that all of the 1000’s of autopsies he’s done, he’s never seen injuries like this consistent with suicide. And he was also struck by the fact that the medical examiner, who he participated with during the examination, found it inconclusive at the time and just days later without additional evidence came to this finding that it was suicide.”
Epstein was found in his New York Metropolitan Correctional Center cell on August 10, 2019, and a medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. Many public figures, including Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, have pushed back against the ruling, questioning whether Epstein’s death was instead a homicide.