Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says congressional oversight is needed following the apparent weekend suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a federal jail in New York City. Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges and reportedly hanged himself Saturday in his cell. Grassley says an investigation is warranted as it appears mistakes were made in how Epstein was being watched.

Grassley says, “I think it would be to make sure that the Bureau of Prisons, which has a terrible record of management, we make sure that the taxpayers’ money is being spent wisely.” Grassley says there needs to be strong leadership from the top down, something that’s lacking in this particular division.

“It’s just terrible that we don’t have a fulltime director of the Bureau of Prisons,” Grassley says. “When I say ‘fulltime,’ we have fulltime acting, but we don’t have somebody appointed specifically for that position.” Epstein had ties to both President Trump and former President Clinton, as well as to British royalty. Social media is aflame with conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and who may’ve actually been responsible. Grassley, a Republican, says he doesn’t believe in conspiracy theories and is only interested in righting potential wrongs in the prison system, not delving into Epstein’s past and who knew who.

“Maybe they weren’t bad when they knew him, maybe they were bad, maybe they didn’t know they were bad,” Grassley says, “but just because you rub elbows with somebody doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s some guilt on the part of friends of a person that committed suicide.”

Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of young girls at his homes in Florida and New York in the early 2000s, charges he denied.