Former Attorney General William Barr’s “personal review” of surveillance footage taken outside of Jeffrey Epstein’s New York City prison cell, which agreed with the U.S. inspector general and the FBI’s report that no one entered the vicinity in which Epstein was held, contains several contradictions and inconsistencies, an independent CBS News investigation says.
The discrepancies identified by CBS News, which looked into the footage after it was released by the FBI earlier this month, do not cast doubt over the conclusion that Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019, but raised questions over how Barr, the inspector general and the FBI were able to determine that no one entered Epstein’s cell block on the night of his death.
The outlet says its review of the footage, which is 11 hours long, found that it provides little evidence to support claims made by federal officials that anyone who entered the area where Epstein was held would have been seen on camera.
“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.”
CBS News noted, however, that when Epstein appears on camera, he is seen walking toward the stairs leading to his cell, but because the staircase is only partially in frame, he is never seen walking up it.
Moreover, the door to Epstein’s cell, as well as the main entrance to the SHU where it was located, is off-camera, CBS News says, “meaning there’s no way to tell from the video if he went to his cell or exited the SHU.”
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While there were several operational cameras in the SHU, not all were manned. In addition, the government stated that the digital video recording system failed on August 9-10, 2019 — the night Epstein died— resulting in the loss of most of the footage that would have provided a more well-rounded view of the scene.
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Though the video does offer a glimpse into the goings-on around Epstein’s cell, showing staff moving around the unit, carrying supplies and wheeling garbage bins, as well as inmates walking around, CBS News also said there were “multiple inconsistencies” between the report and the video that raise serious questions about the accuracy of witness statements and the thoroughness of the government’s investigation.”
The footage, which rolls for over ten hours, begins at 7:40 p.m. At 7:49 p.m., according to the report of the Justice Department inspector general, Epstein is seen for the first and last time on camera.
He appears from the left side of the screen and walks down a staircase with an officer. Prison employees later told investigators that Epstein was returning from an unmonitored phone call with his girlfriend in Belarus.
The video continues overnight without significant action until about 6:30 a.m., when corrections officers are seen congregating in frame.
“The Justice Department later disclosed that that’s when Epstein’s body was discovered,” CBS News reported, adding that throughout the night, staff did not complete their mandatory 30-minute checks on Epstein, who had tried to kill himself two weeks earlier.
Consequently, as prison protocol required, Epstein was assigned a roommate, but he had been transferred earlier in the day, and a new one had not yet been appointed.
No prison officials were punished for these apparent oversights in the lead-up to the death of Epstein.
Jim Stafford, a video forensics expert who reviewed the footage and the inspector general’s report for CBS News told the outlet, “To say that there’s no way that someone could get to that — the stair up to his room — without being seen is false.”
Four other leading video forensics experts interviewed by CBS News agreed, it added.
The Trump administration declared last month that the Epstein case was closed and that no further evidence would be released, despite promising to unseal more files and a so-called client list containing names of the disgraced businessman’s wealthy friends.
Experts have also raised questions about the source of the footage due to the appearance of an onscreen menu and cursor, which they say suggests it is a screen recording, not raw footage as federal officials attested upon its release.
Government sources close to the investigation told CBS News that the original raw footage is in possession of the FBI, but that it was not released by the department.
CBS News also says that, in addition to the failed cameras in the area, there is footage cited in the inspector general’s report that was captured on the unit by cameras covering an elevator and a guard station, which has not been released. The outlet says federal officials dismissed those cameras as unhelpful, but experts told CBS News what they captured could add value to the investigation.
To read the full report and the other discrepancies found in their investigation, head over to CBS News.
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