Recommendations of the Editorial team
On Monday, the Ministry of Justice and the FBI published a common memo with the aim of finally completing the story about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. DArin is described how a comprehensive investigation came to the same conclusions that were already known, Epstein committed suicide in a prison cell in 2019 while waiting for his process, and there is no evidence that he led a “list of clients” with political elites and celebrities to blackmail them because of their participation in his human retail ring.
A minute that changes everything
Of course, these answers were not well received in a significant part of the Maga base-the part that is firmly convinced that Epstein was murdered by powerful people who could have burdened, and that there is a document somewhere that clearly proves that they were involved in the same crimes. It was clear to the officials in the White House that they would get headwind from the president’s believers. What you may not have expected: that a certain detail in the final report – almost eleven hours of surveillance material from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City from Epstein’s last night – would pour additional oil into the fire.
The camera perspective sometimes shows a common area of the facility, with Epstein’s cell door outside the picture lying on the right side. Early in the evening, guards escort him into his cell through this area. For the rest of the night until early morning, nobody can be seen that approaches his door. But many spectators noticed that there is an apparent mistake in the video when the time stamp jumps from 11:58 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. – and then apparently directly at 0:00 a.m. This “missing” minute, of course, was enough to trigger speculation whether the Ministry of Justice and the FBI might have hidden a crucial moment – and hoped that nobody would notice.
“This missing minute does not look good and only stirs up more (distrust) and speculation,” wrote the operator of a popular Maga conspiracy theory account on X. “was it deleted by the previous owners of this tapes?” The right commentator Robby Starbuck published a contribution about the “extremely bizarre aspects of the video of Epstein’s cell, the Pam Bondis Ministry of Justice, as evidence that nobody killed him”, and pointed out the time jump. Podcaster Benny Johnson also shared the clip with his audience – over two million views. Meanwhile, Troll used AI video tools to insert Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates into the film material and jokingly to say that they had discovered the “missing minute”.
Trump blocks, Bondi stammered
The ambiguities around the time gap meant that Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about “open questions” at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. A reporter wanted to know whether Epstein had ever worked for an American or foreign secret service. And added: “Could you also say why a minute is missing from the prison video?” Before Bondi was able to answer, Trump interrupted. And gave way. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” He asked incredulously. “This guy. The people have been talking about the speeches for years. They ask – we have Texas. We have this. We have all of this. And people are still talking about this guy, this opposite? This is incredible. Do you want to waste your time. Want to answer?” Asked Trump Bondi. The replied that she didn’t mind.
Bondi said she has no knowledge of whether Epstein was active for a secret service. And then tried to explain how the recording system works in prison. “The minute that is missing in the video – we have published a video that definitely shows – the video was not conclusive. But the previous evidence was that he committed suicide,” said the Attorney General. “A minute was missing in the counter. And what we found out about the Federal prison office is that this video is rewritten every night every night. It is old, from about 1999. So it is reset every night. And every night should be missing. We are also looking for this video. To show that a minute is missing every night. And that’s it to Epstein.”
A story that doesn’t end
But as Bondi and other government members had to experience, it is practically impossible to close the chapter Epstein. Not if so many people believe in alternative stories. And are determined to hold his accomplices into account. It probably doesn’t help that Epstein was a long -time friend of the President. An annoying detail that caused some, including the former allied Elon Musk, to suggest that the white house holds back information about Epstein to protect Trump.
“How should you have confidence in Trump if he doesn’t release the Epstein files?” Musk posted on X on Tuesday after Trump tried to choke a report on Epstein. The Democrats in the House of Representatives also emphasized this connection. And asked the Ministry of Justice to publish all the material about Epstein that the president mentions. Trump and Epstein are said to have been nearby by the early 2000s. Before you “dispute” according to Trump. Epstein was apparently banned from Mar-a-Lago in 2008-shortly before he was guilty of prostitution in Florida.
Anyway. The “missing minute” is now part of the Epstein catering myth, which will certainly produce countless new, adventurous theories. Trump may be suffering. But the Internet has an insatiable hunger for this.