Mystery of the missing minute from Epstein jail cell solved

Newly released documents reveal the FBI’s efforts to explain why it released a screen recording with a missing minute from the night Jeffrey Epstein died, instead of the original surveillance footage. This discrepancy fueled conspiracy theories about a cover-up, especially after then-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino promised the agency would release the original surveillance video from Epstein’s Manhattan jail “so you don’t think there are any shenanigans.”

The FBI has never publicly explained how it ended up releasing a video with a gap in the footage.

### Destroyed Master Copy of Epstein Surveillance Video

Last May, amid growing public demand for transparency regarding the Justice Department’s records on Epstein, the agency encountered a major issue: it had already destroyed the master copy of the surveillance footage from Epstein’s final hours at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC).

In June 2024, an FBI agent sought and received authorization to destroy an evidence item labeled 1B60, described as an exhibit “no longer pertinent” to the case. According to documents included among the Epstein files, item 1B60 was the master recording of the “tapes containing the archive of [Manhattan Correctional Center] video images.” This recording had been stored in a Bronx warehouse.

By February 2025, an agent provided a justification for destroying the video in a separate document:
> “As this case was already closed and [redacted prosecutor’s name] concurred on 08/26/2024 with agency evidence handling procedures, authorization was granted to destroy Item 1B60. Per FBI policy, if an evidence item remains undisposed, the investigative case file must remain open.”

### The Rush to Rebuild the Video Files

By mid-2025, however, the Justice Department needed the destroyed evidence reconstructed. This ignited a complex scramble to rebuild the video files, according to documents released as part of what have become known as the “Epstein files.”

A “high-level overview” of the steps taken was compiled in July by an FBI digital forensics and analytics section chief. The process involved obtaining another copy of the footage stored across two files on a NiceVision digital video recorder — the system used at the jail.

One video file began at 7:40 p.m., while the other started at midnight and ended at 6:40 a.m. On May 21, 2025, an agent used a screen capture tool to re-record the footage from the NiceVision system. Unfortunately, 62 seconds of footage could not be captured, leaving a gap from 11:58:58 p.m. to midnight.

### Public Scrutiny and Official Explanation

After the video’s release in July 2025, viewers quickly noticed the jump from approximately 11:59 p.m. to midnight. Instead of clarifying that the footage was pieced together from a secondary copy, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the gap was due to the prison’s recording system performing a nightly reset that resulted in a lost minute every night.

“There was a minute that was off that counter, and what we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every year, every night, they redo that video,” Bondi said on July 8. She noted the system was old and added, “Every night is reset, so every night should have that same missing minute. So we’re looking for that video as well, to show it’s missing every night.”

### An Unverified Theory

It appears Bondi accepted a speculative theory summarized by the section chief, who wrote:
> “The Video Specialist theorized the NiceVision systems at this time required time to write files and caused a real time delay in what is recorded resulting in a gap of time not recorded right before midnight. The Video Specialist was unable to test the accuracy of his theory.”

Experts interviewed by CBS News in July called the time delay theory implausible. None of the security system specialists spoken to had ever encountered a system with such an issue. The Justice Department has not responded to questions about the video files.

### Technical Challenges in Reconstructing the Video

An FBI specialist attempted to merge the screen recordings using the video editing software Adobe Premiere, but faced technical difficulties:
> “Adobe Premiere did not work with the video file format the screen capture was created in,” the section chief wrote.

The specialist then turned to software called Fast Forward Moving Picture Expert Group to convert the files into a format compatible with Adobe Premiere. This stage revealed another discrepancy, which Wired uncovered last year: one of the source clips was approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds longer than the segment included in the final video. This suggested footage had been trimmed prior to release.

The section chief described this as “standard practice” when performing a screen capture — including “padding” or extra recording time that is later cut down.
> “When the screen recording was brought into Adobe Premiere the padding was trimmed,” the section chief explained.

Wired also noted that the first video file used in the screen capture had this padding and ended at 11:58:58, implying the two clips would overlap.

### Aspect Ratio Adjustments

A CBS News investigation published in July 2025 also noted a shift in the video’s appearance, specifically its aspect ratio, immediately after midnight. The FBI section chief clarified:
> “The aspect ratio of the file was also corrected to create a more natural appearance.”

—

The newly released documents shed light on the challenges and decisions made by the FBI in handling the Epstein surveillance footage. Yet, lingering questions remain about the missing minute, the destroyed master copy, and the FBI’s overall transparency in this high-profile case.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mystery-of-the-missing-minute-from-epstein-jail-cell-solved/

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