July 7, 2025
DOJ releases Epstein jail video with missing minute
Surveillance footage has gap during critical period
⚖️Justice
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino promised in July 2025 to release the original surveillance footage from Epstein's cell the night he died at MCC New York on August 9-10, 2019
The DOJ released nearly 11 hours of video it labeled 'full raw' footage from a camera positioned near Epstein's Special Housing Unit cell
The released video contained a 62-second gap, jumping from approximately 11:58:58 PM to 12:00:00 AM
UC Berkeley digital forensics professor Hany Farid analyzed metadata at Wired's request and found the video was processed through Adobe Premiere Pro, not directly exported from the prison's NiceVision DVR system
Wired discovered one source clip was approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds longer than its corresponding segment in the final released video
FBI documents revealed an agent received authorization on June 25, 2024 to destroy evidence item 1B60 — the master recording of MCC surveillance footage — calling it 'no longer pertinent'
A prosecutor concurred on August 26, 2024 with the destruction under agency evidence handling procedures, and the footage stored in a Bronx warehouse was destroyed
To reconstruct the footage, FBI agents located a backup copy stored in two files on the prison's NiceVision DVR and used a screen capture tool on May 21, 2025 to re-record it
Attorney General 
Pam Bondi blamed the 62-second gap on a nightly DVR reset, saying 'every night should have that same missing minute'
The House Oversight Committee released 33,295 pages of DOJ records on September 2, 2025, including more complete surveillance footage that contained the missing minute — directly contradicting Bondi's explanation
The Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) passed the House 427-1 and was signed by Trump in November 2025, mandating DOJ release all unclassified Epstein investigation materials
On January 30, 2026, DOJ released over 3 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos — including more than 400 one-hour surveillance clips from MCC
⚖️Justice
People, bills, and sources
Dan Bongino
FBI Deputy Director
Pam Bondi
U.S
Hany Farid
UC Berkeley Professor of Digital Forensics
James Comer
Chairman, House Oversight Committee (R-KY)
Tova Noel
MCC Correctional Officer
Michael Thomas
MCC Material Handler serving as guard
Jeffrey Epstein
Convicted sex offender and federal prisoner