Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Dan Bongino Says FBI Will Soon Release Video Confirming Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself

[Screenshot/Fox News]

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on Thursday that soon-to-be released footage will confirm that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide inside his jail cell.

Suspicions have surrounded the apparent suicide of Epstein in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, with some indicating that he was actually murdered. Bongino said on “Fox & Friends” that the FBI is investigating footage that shows that Epstein was in the cell by himself.

“You’re gonna see there’s no one there but [Epstein],” Bongino said. “There’s just nobody there. So I say to people all the time, if you have a tip, let us know. But there’s no DNA, there’s no audio, there’s no fingerprints, there’s no suspects, there’s no accomplices, there’s no tips, there is nothing. If you have it, I’m happy to see it. There’s video clear as day, he’s the only person in there and the only person coming out, you can see it.”

WATCH:

The video will not show Epstein committing suicide, but will prove that he caused his own death, Bongino said.

The disgraced financier was under psychological evaluation at the time after he attempted to commit suicide on July 23, 2019, according to a CNN timeline of Epstein’s death. On the night of his death, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, the two correctional officers on duty, did not perform the required 12 a.m., 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. counts and completed a form falsely saying that they did.

At 6:33 a.m., the officers entered Epstein’s cell to serve breakfast and found him unresponsive with a noose around his neck, according to the timeline. He was then taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother, told “Fox & Friends” in October 2019 that Epstein’s autopsy was more consistent with homicidal strangulation than suicidal hanging. The 66-year-old had two fractures on the left and right sides of his larynx and a fracture on the left hyoid bone above the Adam’s apple.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Nova and Thomas in November 2019 with one count of “conspiring to defraud the U.S.” by “impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the MCC” and for falsifying records. The charges were later dropped against the guards after prosecutors said they had complied with their deferred prosecution agreement, which required them to admit to falsifying records, complete community service and cooperate with a Department of Justice Inspector General review.

Recorded evidence was only available from one camera due to a malfunction at the prison, causing recordings to be made for only about half of the cameras, according to a DOJ Inspector General’s report. Personnel discovered the failure on Aug. 8, 2019, but did not fix the cameras until after Epstein had died.

The available footage captured a large part of the common area in Epstein’s cell, meaning that anyone who had entered or had attempted to enter “would have been picked up by that video camera,” the report said. The cell door is not visible in the available footage.

The DOJ released the first phase of the Epstein files, which included 200 pages of documents, flight logs and a redacted contact book, on Feb. 27 that were related to Epstein’s sexual exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida. Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters on May 7 that the FBI is still reviewing “tens of thousands” of child porn videos that were in Epstein’s possession, which is delaying the release of more files.