A cascade of equipment failures left no video record of Jeffrey Epstein’s final hours at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, according to an FBI interview with a Bureau of Prisons employee who managed the facility’s camera system.
The employee, whose name is redacted in the FBI document, told investigators that MCC’s surveillance system was antiquated and prone to failure for years before Epstein’s August 10, 2019 death. The interview was conducted March 12, 2020 and released as part of the Epstein Files.
Starting in 2016, the employee was placed in charge of all cameras at MCC. The system was already over 20 years old, with analog cameras connected to digital video recorders that frequently malfunctioned. “The camera system was over 20 years old,” the employee told investigators. “Sometimes the screen would be active indicating that the camera was working, however, the video would not be recording.”
The first critical failure occurred July 29, 2019 — 12 days before Epstein’s death. DVR 2, one of the facility’s main recording systems, experienced a catastrophic failure. On August 8, just two days before Epstein died, the motherboard on DVR 2 failed. By August 10, only one hard drive remained operational.
The employee was among MCC personnel who responded to a body alarm around 6 a.m. on August 10, 2019. The employee briefly attempted to resuscitate Epstein.
After Epstein’s death, the facility’s warden requested video footage. The employee began working to repair the system and started removing failed hard drives to rebuild the DVR. But an FBI agent intervened and physically removed the DVR system, halting the repair effort.
The employee explained to investigators that installing replacement hard drives would have required wiping the system. “By replacing both hard drives, the system would be wiped,” the employee said, adding that MCC personnel had been advised of this technical limitation.
The seizure created a dilemma: The warden wanted video evidence, but repairing the system would erase any recoverable data. The FBI took possession of the equipment before any repair could be completed.
There were two new hard drives available to install, but the employee told investigators that “installing the new hard drives would mean that all prior data would be lost.”
Related: Was Epstein’s Death Announcement Drafted Before His Body Was Found?
The FBI document provides no information about whether federal agents were able to recover any footage from the failed equipment or what their forensic examination revealed.
The interview is part of a broader FBI investigation file numbered 90A-NY-3151227. The document was released through the Justice Department and entered into FBI records on March 4, 2021, nearly seven months after the interview took place.
Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging. The absence of video footage from his cell has fueled persistent questions about the circumstances of his death.
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