When the Trump administration’s DOJ “closed” the Jeffrey Epstein case, all hell broke loose in all directions. One thread we’ve been following is the obvious cover-up around the investigation into Epstein’s death in custody in 2019. A few weeks ago, the FBI released what they called “raw footage” from outside of Epstein’s jail cell. There were immediate problems, as everyone could see that the footage was manipulated, selectively edited and missing an important chunk of time. Well, the FBI reportedly has the real, unedited footage and there’s a mysterious “orange shape” near Epstein’s jail cell in an important time frame.
Experts say there are flaws with the official explanation for why a shadowy figure moved in the direction of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell the night he died. A mysterious “orange shape” was recorded ascending the stairs to where Epstein’s cell was located, which federal investigators previously concluded was a corrections officer carrying up “linen or inmate clothing” on Epstein’s final night alive.
Conor McCourt, a retired NYPD sergeant and forensic video expert, told CBS News he disagrees with the conclusion reached by the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General.
“It’s more likely it’s a person in an [orange] uniform,” he said. More specifically, a person wearing an orange inmate jumpsuit. CBS reported that other forensics experts were also “skeptical” of the conclusion reached by federal investigators.
There is a great deal of importance in who—or what—that grainy orange figure is. It traveled up the stairs to Epstein’s cell block around 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019, and is the last recorded movement in the direction of Epstein’s cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center before his body was discovered by guards the next morning.
CBS reports that a second camera’s recording could provide crucial evidence, but is being withheld by investigators. It also noted that the corrections officers on duty failed to follow protocol that required check-ins every 30 minutes on Epstein, who was on suicide watch and temporarily had no cellmate.
The network reported that the staircase leading to Epstein’s cell block could be ascended without being recorded by a security camera, as the majority of the stairs are out of its view. CBS reported this contradicts claims by investigators and Trump officials, including Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who asserted that the security camera would have recorded anyone who walked up the stairs.
“To say that there’s no way that someone could get to that, the stairs up to his room, without being seen is false,” the video forensics expert Jim Stafford told CBS. Four other experts in the field reportedly agreed with Stafford’s assessment.
In my opinion, the mysterious orange figure is likely another inmate, and I think that’s the most likely explanation if you do believe that there was something fishy about Epstein’s death. If someone else was involved, it was most likely someone already in the facility, whether that was another inmate or one of the guards. Given what we know about Epstein’s powerful associates, the likeliest explanation (if another person was involved) is certainly that someone already in the facility was paid/bribed/threatened to do the hit.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
