ANKARA

An investigation by a major US media outlet is said to raise new doubts about the credibility of the US government's surveillance footage in the 2019 death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing discrepancies between official claims and what the video shows.

Epstein, awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was found dead on Aug. 10, 2019, in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. The death was ruled a suicide.

Then-Attorney General William Barr said his review of surveillance footage showed “no one entered the area where Epstein was housed,” reinforcing the conclusion.

Dan Bongino, a onetime conspiracy enthusiast and now FBI deputy director, echoed the sentiment, saying on national television: “There’s video clear as day — he’s the only person in there and the only person coming out.”

However, CBS News reviewed the nearly 11-hour surveillance footage released earlier this month and found that key areas, including the staircase to Epstein’s cell and the main entrance to the Special Housing Unit (SHU), were not visible in the video.

The footage begins at 7.40 pm local time (2340GMT) on Aug. 9 and ends shortly after 6:30 am (1030GMT) on Aug. 10.

Epstein appears only once, walking with a corrections officer at 7:49 pm (2349 GMT) after an unmonitored phone call.

The rest of the video shows officers completing paperwork, dozing, or walking in and out of frame.

Off-camera areas, blurry orange shape, further anomalies

CBS says it digitally reconstructed the SHU using diagrams from a 2023 Justice Department report.

The reconstruction shows the staircase to Epstein’s cell and SHU entrances were off-camera.

"To say that there's no way someone could get to the stairs without being seen is false," said Jim Stafford, a forensic video expert.

Four other experts agreed.

Around 10:40 pm (2:40 GMT), a blurry orange shape appears ascending the stairs.

The inspector general’s report claimed it was an officer carrying linens.

However, multiple experts said it could be an inmate wearing an orange jumpsuit.

Further anomalies were discovered.

A one-minute gap occurs at midnight, and the video’s aspect ratio shifts slightly when it resumes, signs that experts said indicate editing.

Stafford analyzed the file metadata and found it was created on May 23, 2025, suggesting the footage was a screen recording, not a raw DVR export.

A cursor and a menu appear on-screen at points, further raising doubts.

“It looks like two stitched clips captured from a monitor,” Stafford said.

CBS noted that the original unedited footage remains with the FBI, but it was not what was publicly released.

Multiple breaches of protocol

The absence of clear visual coverage is significant because prison protocol required staff to check on Epstein every 30 minutes due to his suicide risk.

These checks were not performed the night of his death.

His cellmate had been transferred earlier that day, leaving Epstein alone, another breach of protocol.

Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, the two corrections officers on duty, were later charged with falsifying records.

The charges were dropped.

No higher-level Bureau of Prisons officials faced disciplinary action.

CBS also found that the video contradicts statements by Noel.

She told investigators she left Epstein in the shower area to use a restroom.

However, the video shows a staff member, presumably Noel, escorting Epstein to the stairs.

At 12:05 am (0405 GMT), an unidentified person appears in the SHU.

The inspector general’s report said only two staff members entered after midnight.

The individual’s presence is not explained.

The missing minute at midnight also coincides with the end of the shift of a Materials Handler, who is assumed to have left during that gap.

While this may be unrelated, the report does not mention this gap.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the video system resets nightly, causing the missing minute. But a government source told CBS that full, unedited footage in FBI custody contains no such reset, contradicting her claim.

No comment by Bureau of Prisons, FBI on video analysis

Additional cameras monitoring nearby areas like elevators and a guard desk were mentioned in the inspector general’s report, but their footage has not been released. A screen grab from one was included in the report, but its content remains undisclosed.

Robert Hood, former Bureau of Prisons chief of internal affairs, said the official investigative summaries lacked depth.

“The BOP’s new director should provide internal reports concerning Epstein’s death,” CBS News quoted Hood as saying.

Mark Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein’s brother, said he has long believed his brother was murdered.

He said that without a recording from the cell tier itself, it is impossible to verify whether Epstein’s cell door was properly locked or accessible to others.

The tier housed up to 14 inmates, but only three gave statements to investigators.

In response to CBS’s findings, the Bureau of Prisons and FBI declined to comment.

The Justice Department referred inquiries to the FBI.

A spokesperson for the inspector general said: “Nothing in the CBS analysis changes or modifies our conclusions or recommendations.”

The Justice Department's public determination earlier this month that Epstein was not murdered in his jail cell in 2019, and its claim that he had no "client list" has set off the largest rift with Trump's MAGA, or Make America Great Again, base.

While his base and much of the public favor a full release of the Epstein case files – masking the names of his victims – Trump has brushed aside such demands, calling the matter unimportant.

Epstein mingled with the wealthy and powerful, including prominent politicians, for decades before he pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.

Trump's MAGA allies have for years loudly clamored for the release of the government's Epstein records as they speculate that the files incriminate high-profile individuals. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department has a “truckload” of documents related to Epstein in its possession.