Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers break their silence after official cause of death revealed

Three lawyers representing accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein broke their silence Friday evening, announcing they plan to conduct their own thorough investigation into Epstein's shocking death.

"We are not satisfied with the conclusions of the medical examiner," lawyers Martin G. Weinberg, Reid Weingarten, and Michael Miller said in a statement.

"We will have a more complete response in the coming days," they added.

The lawyers claimed Epstein was imprisoned under "harsh, even medieval conditions" at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. And because it is "indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols," the lawyers said they would conduct their own investigation.

"The defense team fully intends to conduct its own independent investigation into the circumstances and cause of Mr. Epstein's death including if necessary legal action to view the pivotal videos — if they exist as they should — of the area proximate to Mr. Epstein's cell during the time period leading to his death," the lawyers said.

Epstein's legal team released the statement hours after New York City's chief medical examiner officially announced that Epstein had died by suicide.

However, questions swirled around the official cause of Epstein's death on Thursday after the Washington Post reported that Epstein's autopsy revealed he had several broken neck bones more consistent with homicide by strangulation than suicide by hanging.