• DDOJ observation logs describe a "flash of orange" ascending to Epstein's locked cell tier at 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019 — activity federal officials previously said never occurred
• The FBI and DOJ inspector general reached conflicting conclusions about the same footage, with the FBI logging it as "possibly an inmate" and the IG calling it an unidentified corrections officer carrying linens
• Neither guard on duty was asked about the orange figure, and both denied performing the task investigators attributed to the image

NEW YORK, NY (TDR) — Newly released Department of Justice documents are raising pointed questions about Epstein jail video footage from the night convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. The records, part of a broader disclosure of more than 3 million Epstein-related documents, show that investigators reviewing surveillance video observed an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward Epstein's isolated, locked tier at approximately 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019 — the night before his body was discovered.

The observation directly conflicts with repeated assertions by former Attorney General Bill Barr and former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino that no one entered Epstein's housing tier that evening.

What the Video Observation Logs Actually Say

The entry in the FBI's observation log of footage from the MCC is unambiguous in what it describes, if not in its conclusion. According to the newly released FBI memorandum, the log states:

"A flash of orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs — could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier."

That characterization — "possibly an inmate" — stands in stark contrast to the inspector general's final report, which described the same fuzzy image differently. The 2023 inspector general report concluded that an "unidentified CO appeared to walk up the L Tier stairway, and then reappeared within view of the camera at 10:41 p.m."

The DOJ Office of Inspector General's separate analysis offered yet another reading: that the image could be "someone carrying inmate linen or bedding up the stairs."

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Three federal entities reviewing the same footage reached three different conclusions about what they were seeing — and none of those conclusions were disclosed in official statements to the public until now.

Guards Say It Wasn't Them

The two corrections officers assigned to the Special Housing Unit that night were Tova Noel and Ghitto Bonhomme, a materials handler whose name had not previously been publicly identified. Neither officer was specifically asked about the orange-colored figure during their interviews with investigators — a gap CBS News first reported and the newly released transcripts confirm.

Bonhomme told investigators he had no recollection of anyone approaching the staircase during the 10 p.m. to midnight window. He added that a jail employee entering a tier alone would have violated policy.

An internal DOJ presentation identified the figure as Noel, suggesting she was carrying linen or inmate clothing to the tier. Noel rejected that explanation outright.

"I never gave out linen. Ever. Because that's done on the shift prior."

The 2023 inspector general report did not identify Noel as the figure. The internal presentation did. The FBI log said it could be an inmate. The IG said it was an unidentified officer. The officers themselves denied being there or performing the task attributed to them.

The Camera That Could and Couldn't See

The staircase to Epstein's cell tier was captured by the only camera known to have been recording that night. Its position partially obscured the approach, meaning it was not possible to rule out whether someone could have climbed the stairs without being clearly visible.

That technical limitation didn't stop officials from making definitive claims. Bongino said on Fox News last summer:

"There's video clear as day, he's the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it."

Five independent video forensics experts consulted by CBS News disagreed.

"To say that there's no way that someone could get to that — the stair up to his room — without being seen is false."

That assessment came from Jim Stafford of Eclipse Forensic Services. Four other leading forensic analysts concurred. Retired NYPD sergeant and forensic video expert Conor McCourt went further, telling CBS News that based on the limited footage available, the movement appeared more consistent with a person wearing an orange prison uniform than a corrections officer carrying linens.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE THE DUPREE REPORT

Prison employees told CBS News that escorting an inmate at that hour would have been highly unusual, making the identification of the figure potentially critical to reconstructing the timeline — given that the sighting occurred within the estimated window of Epstein's possible time of death.

The Missing Noose and the Officer Who Forgot

The newly released transcripts also include the interview of Michael Thomas, the corrections officer who replaced Bonhomme at midnight and discovered Epstein's body at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 10.

Thomas told investigators he found Epstein in a near-seated position, suspended from the top bunk, and that he "ripped" him down. When investigators asked what happened to the ligature, Thomas offered a response that has drawn fresh scrutiny.

"I don't recall taking the noose off. I really don't."

The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death. The DOJ's own 2023 report acknowledged: "The noose depicted is not the ligature Epstein used to kill himself."

Thomas also described Epstein as shirtless. Evidence records show a shirt believed to have been cut from Epstein's body was later returned from the hospital in a bag of personal belongings.

Thomas and Noel had failed to complete mandatory inmate counts at 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., as well as required 30-minute wellness checks. Both were charged with falsifying records. Prosecutors dropped the charges in exchange for cooperation agreements. Thomas's interview was conducted two years after Epstein's death.

The "Raw Footage" That Wasn't Raw

These revelations build on months of forensic scrutiny. When the DOJ and FBI released the jail video in mid-2025, they attested it was "full raw" footage. Independent analysis found otherwise.

Forensic expert Jim Stafford examined the file's metadata and determined it was created on May 23, 2025 — nearly six years after Epstein's death — and appeared to be a screen capture of two video segments stitched together, not a direct export from the prison's DVR system.

Attorney General Pam Bondi attributed a one-minute gap in the released footage to a nightly DVR reset.

"Every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing. So we're looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night."

When the House Oversight Committee later released a more complete version of the video, that "missing minute" was present — and nothing unusual occurred during it. A government source told CBS News that full, unedited copies in FBI custody contained no such reset, directly contradicting Bondi's public explanation.

The DOJ inspector general responded to the broader forensic findings with a statement:

"Nothing in the CBS analysis changes or modifies our conclusions or recommendations."

What Remains Unanswered

Epstein's death was officially ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner, who reviewed the jail surveillance footage six days after his death and concluded the video was too blurry to identify any individuals. Hours after that determination, the office publicly announced its ruling. No precise time of death was ever established.

The newly released documents show that Epstein's cell contained excess blankets, linens and clothing beyond permitted limits, some ripped into nooses. No cell search was documented on Aug. 9 despite it being a required shower day. His cellmate had been transferred earlier that day. No replacement was assigned, violating protocol that existed specifically because of his previous incident on July 23.

The 2023 inspector general report found that "none of the 15 inmates who agreed to be interviewed had any credible information suggesting Epstein's cause of death was something other than suicide." But the report also acknowledged that all SHU staff told the OIG they had no knowledge suggesting foul play — statements now complicated by the fact that those same staff members apparently failed to account for the figure their own surveillance logs captured.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared on Feb. 2 that the DOJ's review was complete and that no further prosecutions related to Epstein would be pursued.

When federal investigators reviewing the same two seconds of footage can't agree on whether they're looking at an inmate, a corrections officer, or a bundle of linens — and the guards on duty deny being the figure their own agency attributed it to — does the absence of answers constitute a gap in the investigation, or a feature of it?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from CBS News' investigation of Epstein jail video logs, CBS News' earlier forensic analysis of jail footage, CBS News' report on the Epstein death scene, the DOJ inspector general's 2023 report, reporting by Anadolu Agency, The Hill's coverage of AG Bondi's statements, CBS News' reporting on the missing minute, WION News, the Epstein Files Transparency Act text, and the DOJ's Epstein document library.

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