DOJ Removes Bureau Of Prisons Director Over Epstein

Reuters reports:

The acting director of the federal Bureau of Prisons has been removed from his position more than a week after millionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein took his own life while in federal custody.

Attorney General William Barr announced Hugh Hurwitz’s reassignment Monday. Hurwitz had served as the agency’s acting director since May 2018.

No reason was given for the reassignment, but the move comes as the bureau faces increased scrutiny after Epstein’s suicide Aug. 10 at a New York jail. The FBI and Justice Department’s inspector general are investigating.

Some Twitter pundits are characterizing this as a firing.

Acting Bureau of Prisons director Hugh Hurwitz is out. AG William Barr announced he’s appointing Kathleen Hawk Sawyer as director and Thomas Kane as deputy director. This is a week after Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide at a federal prison in New York.

— Kristine Phillips (@kristinegWP) August 19, 2019

NEW: Bureau of Prisons chief removed after Epstein’s death https://t.co/YfteZZmvxD pic.twitter.com/nFxSh64BjH

— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 19, 2019