Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger. He has written for many newspapers and magazines in the UK and other countries including The Guardian, Morning Star, Daily and Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, The Spectator, The Week, and The American Conservative. He is a regular pundit on RT and has also appeared on BBC TV and radio, Sky News, Press TV and the Voice of Russia. He is the co-founder of the Campaign For Public Ownership @PublicOwnership. His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com. He tweets on politics and world affairs

It doesn’t take a tin-foil hat to smell a rat in Epstein’s ‘way too convenient’ death

In 2008, Jeffrey Epstein got away with a sentence of 18 months in prison after pleading guilty on two counts of soliciting prostitution from a minor. In 2019, he was facing 45 years behind bars. © Global Look Press / Uma Sanghvi

The death of disgraced financier, pedophile and alleged blackmailer Jeffrey Epstein came just a day after more court documents were unsealed, leading to speculation he may have been “suicided” to stop his case from going to trial.

On Saturday morning, I was discussing Jeffrey Epstein with a friend. "He'll be bumped off and found dead in his cell," was my friend's prediction. "It won't come to court."

A few hours later, I went on Twitter to see what was happening in the world and I saw #EpsteinMurder trending.

The whole thing was quite uncanny.

Let's be honest: has there been a death of a high-profile prisoner whose expiration has been so unsurprising? Also on rt.com Suicide (non-)watch: What we know about Jeffrey Epstein’s death...and what we don’t

Anyone claiming this time last week that Epstein wouldn't make it to trial because too many very rich and very important people would be dragged in would of course have been dismissed as a "conspiracy theorist."

But this morning, it's the "don't be so stupid, of course he'll make it to the courtroom" brigade who are looking rather silly – and you could also argue, quite naive.

If this means we get more open discussion on "conspiracy theories," it can only be a good thing. Here's why. When it comes to conspiracy theories, there are three types of people. There are well-paid, establishment gatekeepers who routinely use the CT term to gaslight people and close down legitimate debate. At the same time, these gatekeepers are themselves often the biggest pushers of conspiracy theories – but only when it comes to "official enemies." Let's not forget that the deadliest conspiracy theory of this century so far was the one suggesting that Iraq possessed WMDs in 2003. It was, by and large, peddled by those who routinely scoff at conspiracy theorists and label them "cranks." The same people are also very quick to blame Russia for just about everything, regardless of the lack of hard evidence.

Also on rt.com Epstein’s death: A mystery that may end up rivaling JFK assassination?

Click for Full Text!