The infamous “missing minute” of surveillance video – which conspicuously shows no activity outside Jeffrey Epstein’s reported cell – was included in Monday’s latest House Oversight Epstein files dump.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously stated the video of that minute was lost because of a video turnover at midnight, fueling conspiracy theories that someone could have accessed Epstein’s cell.
While the video now released with the “missing minute” shows no new activity, it has raised questions about why that minute was not previously released with the other Epstein cell footage, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Some social media accounts suggest the guard moving in the background shows something nefarious, but the lack of activity in front of the cell door shows otherwise.
The footage, released Tuesday evening by the House Oversight Committee as part of a trove of more than 33,000 documents and videos tied to Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation, shows the moment security cameras outside his Manhattan prison cell reset at midnight.
When the Justice Department first released Epstein-related files, observers quickly noted that one minute of video — just before midnight Aug. 9, 2019 — was absent. That gap, occurring hours before Epstein was found dead in his Metropolitan Correctional Center cell, triggered widespread suspicions of foul play.
At the time, Bondi dismissed the concern, explaining the Bureau of Prisons routinely deletes the final minute of daily recordings as cameras reset for the new day.
The newly unveiled clip confirms Bondi’s explanation, showing the time stamp rolling from 23:59:59 on Aug. 9 to 00:00:00 on Aug. 10. Two separate recordings appear to have been stitched together.
Importantly, the missing minute shows no unusual activity outside Epstein’s cell block.
Despite the footage, questions remain as to why the missing segment was never previously provided in full. Epstein’s death — officially ruled a suicide — has remained the subject of speculation, with many pointing to his high-profile connections and the security failures at the jail.
Bondi has yet to respond to the new release, or to address her earlier remarks in light of the now-public video.
Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges when he was found hanged in his cell the following morning. Images released alongside the video show officials carrying his body out of NewYork-Presbyterian Downtown Hospital that morning.
For now, the “missing minute” appears to have offered more clarity than mystery — but whether it silences suspicions about one of the most controversial prison deaths in U.S. history remains uncertain.
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