A clip from Fox News has gone viral, showing a guest going off-script to claim that Jeffrey Epstein did not die by suicide. The accused sex trafficker died in prison back in August while awaiting a trial that many thought would implicate other powerful figures. This Fox News guest took his screen time to shout-out the conspiracy theory that Epstein’s death was not a suicide as we have been told.
The guest who blurted out the controversial claim about Epstein was Mike Ritland, a former Navy SEAL and founder of the Warrior Dog Foundation. Ritland was on network’s show Watter’s World to discuss Conan, the military dog that was wounded in the operation that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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Ritland ended his segment with an unrelated and controversial statement, however. In a clip tweeted by political podcaster Siraj Hashmi, Ritland asked to give a “PSA” as his time came to an end. Host Jesse Waters reluctantly agreed, and Ritland launched into a lecture about responsible dog ownership.
Holy shit. Wait til the end. pic.twitter.com/PZbBOm1txK
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) November 3, 2019
“Either buy a finished, fully-trained dog from a profession, or just don’t get one at all,” he said. “Um, and Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
“Alright,” Waters said, obviously shocked. “Okay, thank you for that commentary, maybe more on that later.”
Many experts have questioned Epstein’s death, believing that he should not have had the chance to commit suicide. The financier was in a high-security prison in Manhattan, where he was supposed to have a cell-mate and be under 24-hour surveillance.
Fox News has not shied away from theories that Epstein’s death was a murder. The network hosted acclaimed pathologist Dr. Michael Baden last week, who monitored Epstein’s autopsy on behalf of his brother.
“I think that the evidence points toward homicide rather than suicide,” Baden said.
Still, the official report from the Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said that all of these theories are simply wrong.
“Our investigation concluded that the cause of Mr. Epstein’s death was hanging and the manner of death was suicide,” she said. “We stand by the determination.”
Ritland is not the only one looking for more answers. On Thursday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on The Daily Show to promote her new book, but during her interview, host Trevor Noah broached the topic.
“I have to ask you a question that has been plaguing me for a while: How did you kill Jeffrey Epstein?” he asked.
Clinton actually laughed at the question, and before she could answer, Noah went on to make a larger point. In the end, it was clear he was really pointing out the inherent contradictions of conspiracy theories concerning Clinton.
“Because you’re not in power, but you have all the power. I really need to understand how you do what you do, because you seem to be behind everything nefarious, and yet you do not use it to become president,” he said. “Honestly, what does it feel like being the boogeyman to the right?”
“The things they say, and now, of course, it’s on steroids with being online, are so ridiculous beyond any imagination that I could have. And yet they are so persistent in putting forth these crazy ideas and theories. Honestly, I don’t know what I ever did to get them so upset,” Clinton responded.
Conspiracy theorists believe that former President Bill Clinton would have been implicated in Epstein’s underage sex trafficking ring if he had been allowed to testify. However, there are many other names floated in these circles on both sides of the political aisle.
