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A mysterious orange shape was spotted near late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's prison cell on surveillance video captured just prior to his death in footage obtained and reviewed by CBS News.
Forensic experts are questioning the federal government's explanation of the mysterious, shadowy object, which appears to move up the stars to Epstein's cell block at around 10:40 p.m. local time, the night before he was reported to be found hanged. Federal investigators had previously claimed that the pixelated blob was a corrections officer “carrying linen or inmate clothing,” but forensic investigators now suspect it could've been an inmate wearing an orange jumpsuit.
“Based on the limited video, it’s more likely a person in an [orange] uniform,” said Conor McCourt, a retired NYPD sergeant and forensic video expert, via CBS News.
Epstein was found dead inside his cell on August 10, 2019, and ruled to have died by suicide, which has been widely questioned by the public for years and forensic experts told CBS News that there are significant flaws in the Department of Justice's official review of the incident.
“To say that there’s no way that someone could get to that, the stairs up to his room, without being seen is false,” said video forensic expert Jim Safford via CBS News, which was an opinion shared by four other leading experts.
The Office of the Inspector General issued a response to CBS News regarding the theories, claiming it hadn't modified or changed its conclusion based on recent analysis regarding Epstein's death.
“Our comprehensive assessment of the circumstances over the weeks, days, and hours before Epstein’s death included the effects of the longstanding, chronic staffing crisis in the [Bureau of Prisons] and the BOP’s failure to provide and maintain quality camera coverage within its facilities,” the statement reads. “As CBS notes, nothing in its analysis changed or modified the OIG’s conclusions or recommendations.”
President Donald Trump, whose name reportedly appeared seven times in Epstein's flight logs, and his administration have recently faced scrutiny for not releasing more information about the Epstein files, which led to the president publicly directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to release "pertinent" grand jury testimony. On July 16, Quinnipiac University released a poll showing a majority of Americans (63%) disapproved how Trump and his administration had handled the Epstein files.
Podcaster Joe Rogan, who staunchly supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, criticized the administration's announcement claiming there was never a list or footage revealing Epstein's alleged clients, which was a talking point of conservative pundits for years.
“They’ve got videotape and all [of] a sudden they don’t,” Rogan said on the episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast released on Tuesday (July 15).
“You had the director of the FBI on this show saying, ‘If there was [a videotape], nothing you’re looking for is on those tapes,'” he added, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel's appearance on his podcast in June. “Like, what? Why’d they say there was thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible s–t? Why’d they say that? Didn’t Pam Bondi say that?"
Bondi had previously claimed that the supposed Epstein list was on her desk awaiting review months ago and told reporters that the FBI was reviewing "tens of thousands of videos" of Epstein "with children or child porn" on July 1 before the DOJ suddenly announced that there was no "Epstein list" or incriminating footage of his associates days later. President Trump spent months claiming he had plans to release everything the government had on Epstein and his alleged associates, which included releasing The Epstein Files: Phase 1 in February, though the files revealed next to no new information.