Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Department's latest findings in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, dismissing speculation over a missing minute in prison footage and reiterating that Epstein's death was a suicide, The Hill reported.
Bondi on Tuesday responded to growing skepticism among conservatives regarding the Justice Department's new memo on Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in federal custody in 2019.
The Justice Department and FBI on Monday released nearly 11 hours of surveillance footage recorded outside Epstein's jail cell the night he died. The video's time stamp jumps from 11:58 p.m. to midnight, sparking renewed conspiracy theories online.
"The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide," Bondi said during a Cabinet meeting.
She addressed the missing minute directly: "And what was on that — there was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video … so, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing," Bondi explained.
"So we're looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night. And that's it on Epstein."
The released footage was intended to dispel persistent theories suggesting Epstein did not die by suicide. However, conspiracy theorists quickly seized on the apparent video gap as potential evidence of foul play.
Bondi also addressed criticism surrounding a February interview in which she mentioned that an Epstein "client list" was on her desk. On Tuesday, she clarified that she had been referring to a variety of files connected to the Epstein investigation.
According to Bondi, thousands of hours of video reviewed during the probe contained child sex abuse material and would not be made public.
In a memo released Monday, the Justice Department stated that no "client list" of individuals linked to Epstein was found in the course of the investigation. That memo also reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide, undermining a long-running theory that his death was a coordinated murder aimed at silencing powerful individuals.
The notion of a hidden client list has circulated widely among right-wing commentators, who claim it would implicate high-profile Democrats. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, both former media personalities known for endorsing Epstein-related conspiracies, were cited in the memo's footnotes.
The current administration, led by President Donald Trump, has faced criticism from some in the MAGA movement who suggest that government officials, including Bondi, Patel, and Bongino, are participating in a cover-up of sensitive details about Epstein's connections.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct charges in 2008 and was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges related to alleged abuses between 2002 and 2005. He died in a federal jail cell in Manhattan later that year.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.