New metadata analysis has revealed that nearly three minutes of surveillance footage were cut from what the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described as “full raw” video from the only working camera near Jeffrey Epstein’s cell on the night before his death. The discovery, reported by WIRED, has reignited concerns about how the video evidence was edited and presented to the public.
Footage trimmed despite 'raw' label
DOJ and FBI released the footage last week as part of the Trump administration’s effort to put lingering questions about Epstein’s 2019 death to rest. However, according to the American magazine website report, metadata embedded in the video shows that it was stitched together using Adobe Premiere Pro from two separate clips, contradicting claims that the footage was unedited.
Further analysis by the publication revealed that the first clip originally ran nearly three minutes longer than what was included in the final version. The trimmed segment ends precisely at 11:58:58 PM on August 9, 2019, just before a widely reported one-minute system “reset” that occurred at midnight.
Timeline gaps and editing history
The report stated that the two source video files were titled “2025-05-22 16-35-21.mp4” and “2025-05-22 21-12-48.mp4.” The first file was 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 16 seconds long, but only 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 23.368 seconds of it made it into the released footage—leaving a gap of 2 minutes and 53 seconds. The second clip begins exactly at 12:00:00 AM and runs until 6:40:00 AM.
While DOJ and FBI have maintained that the midnight gap was caused by a normal surveillance system reset, WIRED’s forensic review—confirmed by two independent experts—shows that the video was actively edited and saved over a three-and-a-half-hour period on May 23, 2025. The editing history also includes multiple saves and an export timeline that contradicts the narrative of an unedited, continuous video record.
Internal markers point to further review
Both the “raw” and enhanced versions of the footage, as reviewed by the publication, contain internal comment markers—annotations often used by video editors to flag specific moments. The enhanced video, referred to as Video 2 by the FBI, includes 15 such markers aligned with movement near the “46 door,” located near Epstein’s cell block at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). While the markers are visible in the metadata, the original comments were removed prior to release.
Response from DOJ and FBI
When WIRED contacted the DOJ for clarification at 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday, public affairs officer Natalie Baldassarre responded just two minutes later, saying only: “Refer you to the FBI.” The FBI, in turn, declined to comment.
Previous reports flagged flaws in surveillance
A 2023 report by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) had already flagged serious issues with the MCC’s surveillance system, noting that it was “outdated,” poorly maintained, and that DVRs often malfunctioned. At the time of Epstein’s death, only two cameras were functioning near the Special Housing Unit (SHU) where he was held. One of those cameras captured the hallway outside the tiers, though Epstein’s cell door itself was not visible. The stairway to the tier where he was held was also partially obstructed, according to the OIG.
Despite these limitations, both the 2023 OIG report and last week’s DOJ-FBI memo claim that any individual entering Epstein’s tier would have been captured on camera. The memo also stated unequivocally that no “incriminating client list” exists and reaffirmed the conclusion that Epstein died by suicide.
The metadata also included a partial username, “MJCOLE~1,” suggesting that someone with that account may have been responsible for the edits. However, WIRED notes that the full name cannot be determined from the metadata alone.
