Nearly three minutes of surveillance footage were cut from the so-called “raw” video of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison block the night before his death, according to newly uncovered metadata analyzed by WIRED.
The video, released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI, was described as untouched footage from the only working camera near Epstein’s cell. But metadata obtained and reviewed by WIRED and independent video experts tells a very different story.
The investigation found the video was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro, a common video editing program, before being released to the public. The footage was built from two separate clips — not one continuous feed. More importantly, one of those clips was nearly 3 minutes longer than what the DOJ published.
The missing footage, according to metadata, was cut at 11:58:58 PM, right before the clock hit midnight — the same one-minute window DOJ official Pam Bondi previously claimed was due to a routine system reset.
But now it appears additional time was removed, not just the one minute previously explained. 2 minutes and 53 seconds are simply gone.
Two independent video forensics analysts with over 15 years of experience confirmed that footage was trimmed just before the now-infamous midnight gap.
The original clip, labeled “2025-05-22 16-35-21.mp4,” was 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 16 seconds long. The DOJ’s released version only includes 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 23.368 seconds — stopping just before 11:59 p.m.
The second clip, titled “2025-05-22 21-12-48.mp4,” picks up at exactly 12:00:00 a.m. and runs until 6:40 a.m.
This cut sequence lines up with the controversial “missing minute,” but now appears to be even longer and more deliberate than previously known.
When WIRED asked the DOJ about the editing, they responded just two minutes later with a one-line reply: “Refer you to the FBI.” The FBI declined to comment.
The file metadata shows the video was created, edited, saved, and exported multiple times over a span of more than three and a half hours on May 23, 2025. The editing process started at 4:48 p.m. and wrapped up at 8:16 p.m.
The metadata also shows internal references to a user — “MJCOLE~1” — believed to be a shortened username of someone involved in the edit. The full name can’t be confirmed from the file data alone.
Editing Markers Hidden in “Raw” Video
The investigation also discovered that both the “raw” and “enhanced” versions of the Epstein footage contained internal comment markers, which are typically added by editors to flag specific moments in a video timeline.
The enhanced version, dubbed Video 2, included 15 such markers pointing to activity near the door labeled “46” — a location close to Epstein’s tier in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York.
These markers were stripped of any text, but their presence alone undercuts the DOJ’s claim that the footage was untouched.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019, just weeks after his arrest on serious sex-trafficking charges. His death, ruled a suicide, occurred during Trump’s first term under the watch of former Attorney General Bill Barr and was clouded by bizarre occurrences: malfunctioning cameras on the night of his passing and a lack of adequate oversight by prison staff.
These factors have fueled conspiracy theories, prompting many to speculate whether Epstein was silenced to protect powerful individuals, including Trump.
A 2023 DOJ Office of Inspector General report said only two cameras were working in Epstein’s unit the night he died. One covered the common area and staircases — but not Epstein’s cell. That area was partially blocked, and the stairway to his tier was hard to see clearly.
The other camera watched the ninth-floor fire exit and two elevators. That’s it.
The release of the video came after months of pressure from Trump allies demanding transparency around Epstein’s death. When the DOJ announced last week that no “client list” existed and stood by the suicide conclusion, it sparked fierce backlash from pro-Trump media and influencers.
Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi on Truth Social:
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.”
Still No Answers
The DOJ and FBI called the video “raw.”
Metadata and expert analysis say otherwise.
Nearly three minutes of surveillance are missing — cut without explanation. No one has said who did it, why it was done, or what was on the footage that got removed.
Until those answers come, the public is left with more questions — and less trust.
