The public was already skeptical of the DOJ’s claims the footage from the SHU where Jeffrey Epstein was housed “clearly shows” Epstein is the only person who entered his cellblock the night of his death, a mysterious orange blob climbing the steps to L block has eviscerated all trust in their review.
The Inspector General says the movement on the staircase around 10:40 pm is C.O. Tova Noel carrying inmate linens up to the L Block, but video analysis experts say it's more likely the figure was wearing orange, not carrying orange material.
According to independent reviews of the “raw” footage released by the DOJ, the video isn’t “raw” at all. At one point, a computer cursor flies across the screen, indicating the original file is a screen recording, not a DVR export. Metadata also reveals the footage was created from two different clips and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro on May 23 from 4:48 p.m. to 8:16 p.m.
One of those clips was cut down 2 minutes and 53 seconds shorter than its original form, the cut coinciding with the beginning of the “missing minute,” at 11:58:58. When the footage resumes at midnight after the alleged “nightly reset,” the aspect ratio is also slightly different.
The footage released from the MCC offers a limited view of the SHU common area and just a sliver of the staircase to Jeffrey Epstein’s cell block. Off camera, to the right of the staircase, is another entrance into the SHU. The correctional officers on duty report that a second locked door blocks that entrance.
One of those doors is controlled remotely, while the other requires a key kept on the C.O.’s person. However, multiple people are seen entering and exiting while Tova Noel and Michael Thomas are nowhere near the door or not in the unit at all.
While correctional officers admitted that Epstein was allowed to make an unmonitored phone call in the showers before he was returned to his cell at 7:40 p.m., C.O. Tova Noel claimed she left Epstein in the showers alone to use the restroom, and by the time she returned, someone else had already escorted Epstein back to his cell.
However, it appears that Noel remains in the unit during the call and does personally walk Epstein back toward the staircase to cellblock L. Another female staffer left the unit shortly before Noel gave the escort and returned shortly after Epstein was allegedly safely returned to his cell.
Senator Ron Wyden, the Democratic ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, claims there is plenty to investigate from the Epstein files, including thousands of lines of Epstein’s wire transfers. Wyden points out that Epstein had to fund his sex-trafficking ring somehow and says that over the last three years, the Treasury Department has discovered 4,725 wire transfers totaling over a billion dollars flowing through just one of Epstein’s banks.
They also found that Epstein had frequent dealings with a sanctioned Russian bank. Wyden claims the DOJ has financial records for Epstein and calls for them to be released to the SFC for further investigation.
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