A new surveillance video released by the House Oversight Committee shows the one-minute stretch of footage previously missing from outside Jeffrey Epstein’s New York jail cell on the night of his 2019 suicide. The gap – between 11:58:59 pm on August 9 and midnight on August 10, 2019 — had fueled years of speculation and conspiracy theories about a possible cover-up in the death of the disgraced financier.
Why was the minute ‘missing’?
When the Justice Department and FBI first released nearly 11 hours of footage in July, the recording appeared to skip one minute just before midnight. Digital forensic experts later found that the clip had been stitched together from at least two separate files using editing software, according to a Fox News report.
The stitching together of two videos raised questions about why the timecode jumped.
According to the newly released congressional video, the missing time was the result of the jail’s camera system switching over at midnight. That system reset caused the footage to split into two clips, which were later combined. Nothing unusual is seen in the missing minute.
The footage was reposted on X a few hours ago, where it has already received 1.7 million views.
Pam Bondi’s earlier explanation
{{/usCountry}}The footage was reposted on X a few hours ago, where it has already received 1.7 million views.
Pam Bondi’s earlier explanation
{{/usCountry}}Attorney General Pam Bondi dismissed conspiracy theories in July, insisting that “the last minute of footage is deleted each night by the Bureau of Prisons as the cameras reset.”
“What we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” Bondi said in a White House meeting, according to a Fox News report.
However, the latest release contradicts that claim. The House Oversight Committee’s trove of more than 33,000 documents and videos shows the transition point in full, without a lost minute.
Bondi has not yet addressed her previous explanation, which now stands invalidated.
Release of Epstein files
The surveillance video was part of 33,295 pages of Epstein-related material published by the committee, including flight logs, emails, audio files, and court records. Both Republicans and Democrats noted that much of the information was already public, and it remains unclear whether more files are still being withheld.
(Also read: Epstein files released: Read all documents posted by House Oversight Committee)
CBS News, Fox News Digital, and the BBC all confirmed that the newly released video accounts for the previously missing minute. Fox News Digital combined the two clips to show a continuous recording. CBS News said that in July, a source confirmed that authorities possessed a version without the missing minute.