Could this finally show something of substance from the Epstein Files release? Or is this – like much of the material – a rehash of the already known?
CBS News reports today on an FBI document that appears to cast doubt on the official conclusion that Jeffrey Epstein had been alone in his cell the night he allegedly killed himself. The document, part of the release of all investigative materials in the multiple investigations into Epstein's sex-trafficking activities, logs the notes from the jail and the reaction of FBI agents who reviewed the video. They all observed a "flash of orange" in the video of Epstein's cell at a time when records showed he was supposedly alone:
Newly released Department of Justice documents show that investigators reviewing surveillance footage from the night of Jeffrey Epstein's death observed an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward the isolated, locked tier where his cell was located at approximately 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019.
That entry in an observation log of the video from the Metropolitan Correctional Center appears to suggest something previously unreported by authorities: "A flash of orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs — could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier."
It also appears, according to an FBI memorandum, that reviews by investigators led to disparate conclusions by the FBI and those examining the same video from the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General.
A review by the Office of the Inspector General concluded that the anomaly was instead a jail officer possibly carrying bed linens:
The inspector general logs it as an officer carrying orange "linen or bedding," noting it in their final report as "an unidentified [corrections officer]."
The final report by the Inspector General stated: "At approximately 10:39 p.m., an unidentified CO appeared to walk up the L Tier stairway, and then reappeared within view of the camera at 10:41 p.m."
The "flash of orange" itself is nothing new. The IG report mentioned it in the 2023 report linked above, and the New York Post put together a brief video report about it last summer, when the political fight over the Epstein files renewed interest in his alleged suicide:
What makes this news is that the FBI's analysis had not been seen before the full release of the Epstein files. The DoJ had left that out when it published the IG report, perhaps to tamp down any speculation or conspiracy theories about Epstein's death. It's pretty clear why they may have wanted to avoid discussing it. If this were a corrections officer with bed linens, that would almost certainly rule out any hint of foul play in Epstein's self-strangulation. However, if this video shows an inmate moving through the area, then perhaps the possibility exists that the inmate strangled Epstein with the bed linens seen in the crime scene and made it look like a suicide. It would also open up questions as to why the inmate was allowed to be in that area unescorted, and whether anyone else would have been involved in murdering Epstein.
As the Sun points out today, neither explanation lines up with what then-AG Bill Barr said in 2019 after an extended review of the death:
Both analyses contradict public statements made by at least two top US officials.
Former US attorney general Bill Barr, who served during Trump’s first term, claimed in a 2019 interview that he had reviewed security footage and confirmed that no one entered Epstein’s prison area.
And former deputy director of the FBI Dan Bongino told Fox News:
“There’s video clear as day. He’s the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it.
“We are working on cleaning it up to make sure you have an enhanced [version] and we’re going to give the original so you don’t think there were any shenanigans.”
That's a problem, given that the "flash" was noted by the MCC, FBI, and the OIG in separate investigations. It may mean nothing at all, but the video shows someone moving around in that area at the time that Epstein's life ended.
So ... did Epstein kill himself? That is still the most likely explanation. We could have more confidence in that conclusion, though, if previous explanations had accounted for this movement. Now, new questions will be raised, and perhaps that's the only real substantive transparency we will get from this latest and final download of material from the curious and despicable life of Jeffrey Epstein and Friends. We should have had this information long before now, though, and without exposing the rest of the material that heedlessly exposes non-criminal matters, victims, and associates with less taste and judgment than money.
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