NEED TO KNOW
- A new report claims that the federal government has a copy of Jeffrey Epstein’s jail surveillance footage without the “missing minute”
- The DOJ and FBI recently released around 11 hours of footage from New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on the night before Epstein died, attempting to prove that no one entered his cell
- However, a time jump in the footage just before midnight has led to even more questions about the alleged predator’s final hours
A new report claims that high-ranking officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have copies of the footage from outside Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on the night he died without the “missing minute.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and the FBI released around 11 hours of footage from the security camera in New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, in an attempt to assuage public calls for transparency about the late billionaire and alleged predator.
However, the footage immediately sparked new conspiracy theories, as viewers noticed that, at 11:58 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019, the footage jumped forward one minute, to midnight. As the video was meant to show that no one entered or exited Epstein’s cell on the night before he was found dead — thereby proving that he died by suicide — the gap in the tape made many wonder if the footage had been doctored to hide evidence.
CBS News cites “a government source familiar with the investigation” in its new report that claims the FBI, the DOJ and the Bureau of Prisons all have a copy of the video that doesn’t skip forward a minute. However, CBS’ source did not provide information on what may be on the missing footage.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about the missing minute, and she claimed it was a technical glitch.
“What we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video,” she told reporters on July 8. “So, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing.”
Surveillance and forensic video experts told CBS News that a daily reset, such as Bondi described, “would have been unusual and was not something they encountered in most video systems.”
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When they released the footage, the DOJ and FBI claimed it was the “full raw” security video, however, forensic video expert Jim Stafford analyzed the released footage for CBS News and concluded that it was “likely a screen capture, not an actual export” of the security file.
Additionally, the metadata on the video showed that the file was created on May 23 of this year and was actually two separate videos stitched together.
While Trump has repeatedly downplayed his own relationship with Epstein, he has been quick to point the finger toward others.
When asked about Ghislaine Maxwell’s meetings with the Justice Department last week, Trump told reporters that he wished they would stop talking about the Epstein case and start focusing on other issues — or at least other people who knew the convicted sex offender.
“People should really focus on how well the country is doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup,” he told reporters outside the White House on July 25, referencing unfounded treason allegations he recently lobbed at the former president.
Trump also named former President Bill Clinton and former Harvard President Larry Summers, whom he claimed were “really close friends” of the late financier, but who have maintained that they were not aware of his crimes.
“They don’t talk about them. They talk about me,” Trump griped. “I have nothing to do with the guy.”