WASHINGTON (TNND) — There apparently isn’t a “missing minute” from the 11-hour surveillance footage from the correctional facility where Jeffrey Epstein stayed and was found dead.
That’s according to a new report from CBS.
A government source familiar with the investigation says the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice inspector general are all in possession of a copy of the video that does not cut from just before 11:59 p.m. to midnight of the night Epstein died by suicide in his cell,” according to the media outlet, which published the report Tuesday.
The Trump Administration recently released the video as part of their investigation into Epstein’s death to clear up questions. Instead, there have been even more questions as to what’s missing and why it was allegedly edited.
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously attributed the one-minute gap to a nightly system reset between 11:58:58 p.m. and 12:00:00 a.m.
She explained during a White House Cabinet meeting that the footage, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI provided links to in a memo, does not show the common area of the special housing unit in the Metropolitan Correctional Center from 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019 to 12 a.m. the next day.
We released the video showing definitively — the video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was, showing he committed suicide. And what was on that — there was a minute that was off the counter,” Bondi said. “And what we learned from Bureau of Prisons was [every night] they redo that video — it’s old, from like 1999 — so every night, the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing, so we’re looking for that video to release that as well, showing that a minute is missing every night.”
The DOJ and FBI said in their joint memo that the footage of Epstein’s unit supports the conclusion he died by suicide. The video would have captured anyone entering or trying to enter the tier holding Epstein’s cell from the common area, the federal bodies explained.
“The FBI’s independent review of this footage confirmed that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at around 10:40 pm on August 9, 2019, until around 6:30 am the next morning, nobody entered any of the tiers in the SHU,” the memo said.
Epstein, who was charged with trafficking minors for sex, died in his cell between the night of Aug. 9 and the morning of Aug. 10.
The new development from CBS comes the same day as Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator, offered to testify before Congress about what she knows about Epstein — but with some serious conditions.
At the top of the list: she wants to be granted formal immunity.
Her attorneys on Tuesday sent a three-page letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James, a Republican, that includes a list of demands.
They said while they initially felt it would be best for Maxwell to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify, they have had a change of heart.
After further reflection, we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress if a fair and safe path forward can be established,” her lawyers wrote.
Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity,” they added.
They also want the Committee’s questions in advance, as well as requested that that any appearance be scheduled only after the resolution of her Supreme Court petition and her upcoming habeas petition.
“Proceeding before those matters are resolved would unfairly prejudice her if she is successful,” they wrote.
In the letter, her lawyers admitted that she “is actively pursuing post-conviction relief.”
