最新一批美国司法部（DOJ）爱泼斯坦档案中，一段未标注的 12 秒影片在社群平台流传，被宣称是爱泼斯坦死亡当天凌晨 4:29 的「自杀画面」。但紧接在档案中的前一份文件显示，该影片并非出自 DOJ，而是民众来信提问「这是真的吗？」并附上连结。WIRED 追查到署名者、独立记者 Ali Kabbaj；他说自己在暗网找到影片，于 2021 年送交联邦调查人员求证，但未获回复。
DOJ 网站上的影片连结现已失效；片段内容看起来与 2019 年 YouTube 上的一支「3D 图形渲染」影片一致。DOJ 未立即说明连结失效原因，而该部门先前也曾在周末移除多份档案以进行额外审查与遮蔽。DOJ 监察长办公室在 2023 年 6 月的报告中指出，爱泼斯坦的牢房内没有摄影机；他死亡当晚，SHU 区域的录影也因 2019 年 7 月 29 日数位录影系统故障，只剩 1 支监视器可用。纽约市首席法医于 2019 年 8 月裁定死因为自杀。
围绕爱泼斯坦死亡的阴谋论持续升温，部分原因正是「可得影像」的缺口与争议。DOJ 于 7 月公布所称「完整原始」监视影像，但 WIRED 先前报导其后设资料显示影像可能被修改；进一步分析发现该档其实是两段影片拼接而成，过程中剪掉了将近 3 分钟。依《爱泼斯坦档案透明法》，DOJ 必须公开其持有的所有未分类纪录；然而外界批评目前的释出偏狭窄、缺乏档名与附件脉络，且以零散文件倾倒方式「慢慢滴出」。
A new DOJ Epstein-files release included an unlabeled 12-second video that spread online as supposed footage of Epstein’s suicide at 4:29 a.m. But the document immediately before it shows the DOJ did not originate the clip: it was forwarded in a public tip email asking, “Is this real?” WIRED traced the email signature to independent journalist Ali Kabbaj, who says he found the video on the dark web and sent it to federal investigators in 2021 without getting a response.
The DOJ-hosted link now appears broken, and the clip resembles a 2019 YouTube upload described as “rendering 3D graphics.” The DOJ has not promptly explained the broken link, and it previously removed multiple files over a weekend for additional review and redactions. A June 2023 DOJ Inspector General report also states there was no camera in Epstein’s cell; on the night he died, SHU video was available from only one security camera because the DVR system malfunctioned on July 29, 2019. New York City’s chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide in August 2019.
The episode fits a broader pattern: limited, poorly contextualized releases fuel conspiracy narratives around gaps in prison video. In July, the DOJ released what it called “full raw” surveillance footage, but WIRED reported metadata suggesting modifications; further analysis found two clips stitched together, cutting nearly three minutes. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ must publish all unclassified records it holds, yet critics argue the dumps remain narrow, disorganized, and missing basic context like filenames or whether items were email attachments.