Editor’s Note: This article contains discussions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can find resources in your area on the National Crisis Line website or by calling 988.
(NewsNation) — The FBI will release prison video of the death of billionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to confirm he killed himself and was not murdered.
FBI Deputy Director Don Bongino said Thursday that plans are underway to release the video. When asked, Bongino said the tape would not show the actual act.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on Aug. 10, 2019. He was being held there while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide, but almost immediately, conspiracy theories began to circulate. Conspiracy theorists have suggested Epstein was murdered, potentially to prevent the names of powerful people he was associated with from being brought up in evidence at his trial.
The names of many powerful people have been associated with Epstein through flight logs or other evidence, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, magician David Copperfield and Michael Jackson.
The fact that someone’s name appeared in evidence does not mean that they were involved in any crimes or wrongdoing.
Before his appointment to the FBI, Bongino himself repeatedly promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, including claims that Epstein had blackmailed powerful individuals.
Trump also promised to release the Epstein files when he took office, though an initial release of documents was underwhelming, and some have called for more files to be made public.
Bongino said the video clearly shows nobody was present in the cell other than Epstein and emphasized there is no evidence to indicate foul play.
He said the video would be the original.
Epstein was accused of sexually assaulting multiple teenage girls and offering them money to bring him other girls to victimize. Some of the girls were alleged to be as young as 14.
His girlfriend and associate Ghislane Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking, having helped procure girls for Epstein.