00:00The U.S. Department of Justice is facing fresh controversy
00:29after a video claiming to show Jeffrey Epstein's final hours
00:33briefly appeared online and then suddenly disappeared.
00:37Here's what we know and why this matters.
00:41On Monday afternoon, a 12-second video clip surfaced online
00:45claiming to show Jeffrey Epstein inside his prison cell
00:49just hours before his death in 2019.
00:53The video appeared to come from a justice.gov web address
00:57and was released alongside other files
00:59by the U.S. Department of Justice.
01:02The clip was timestamped August 10, 2019 at 4.29 in the morning,
01:08just about two hours before Epstein was found dead
01:11inside his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center
01:15in New York.
01:16But within minutes of going live, the video was deleted.
01:21And soon after, questions turned into confirmation.
01:24The video was fake.
01:27According to reports, the clip appeared to show a man attempting to hang himself.
01:33However, it did not match how Epstein was actually found.
01:37A 2023 Bureau of Prisons report released after a long internal investigation
01:43clearly stated that no camera was recording video inside Epstein's cell on the night he died.
01:50In fact, the report said there was no camera anywhere in the facility with a clear view inside his cell.
01:59Only one security camera in the special housing unit was functioning that night,
02:04after others malfunctioned.
02:06And even that camera did not capture the inside of Epstein's cell.
02:10But the controversy does not end there.
02:13The Department of Justice also faced backlash over the removal and later restoration of a photograph from the Epstein files.
02:22The image included President Donald Trump and was temporarily taken down for review.
02:28The DOJ said the image was flagged to ensure no Epstein victims were shown.
02:35After review, the photo was restored without any alteration.
02:40Meanwhile, President Trump has spoken out about the release of Epstein files.
02:44He said the documents could unfairly damage innocent people, adding that many photos show individuals who simply crossed paths with Epstein years ago.
02:56Trump also said he felt bad for former President Bill Clinton after photos of Clinton appeared in the first batch of released material.
03:05Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles confirms that Trump's name does appear in the Epstein files,
03:11saying he had been on Epstein's plane and appears on flight manifests.
03:16But she emphasized there was nothing inappropriate.
03:20Meanwhile, as the DOJ continues to release Epstein-related files,
03:25the brief appearance of a fake video has raised serious questions about verification, accountability, and the spread of misinformation.
03:35And for a case already surrounded by doubts and conspiracies,
03:39even a 12-second clip has proven how quickly confusion can take over.
03:45You're watching A Developing Story.
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