‘Flash of Orange’ Caught on Video Sparks More Questions About Jeffrey Epstein’s Death

A “flash of orange” spotted on video heading to the Manhattan jail tier housing Jeffrey Epstein on the night before his death may have been an inmate moving toward his cell, according to an FBI memorandum that was part of the latest release of Epstein files.

Epstein, who was being held in preparation for his federal trial on sex trafficking charges, was found dead in his cell at 6:30 a.m. on August 10, 2019, by a corrections officer delivering breakfast. The official report said Epstein hanged himself with bed sheets, but skeptics have claimed that he was murdered to protect the rich and powerful from being named during his trial.

Proponents of the “murder” theory included podcasters Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, who backtracked on their claims after becoming the FBI director and deputy director under President Donald Trump, who is named thousands of times in the Epstein files.  Merely appearing in the files does not indicate guilt, and Trump has maintained he was not involved in Epstein’s crimes.

The newly-released video log, however, has reignited conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death.

At 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, the FBI log noted “A flash or orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs – could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier.”

CBS News consulted independent video analysts “who said the movement was more consistent with an inmate — or someone wearing an orange prison uniform — than a corrections officer,” the outlet reported.

The report continued:

The new records raise more questions about activity near Epstein’s tier late that evening. Official reviews of Epstein’s death make no mention of the figure in orange, and later pronouncements from authorities including the attorney general at the time, Bill Barr, were that no one entered Epstein’s housing tier the night of his death. Last summer in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” then-deputy FBI director Dan Bongino said, “There’s video clear as day, he’s the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it.”

Prison employees interviewed by CBS News said escorting an inmate at that hour would have been highly unusual. The identification of the individual could have been crucial to reconstructing the events, given that the sighting occurred within the estimated window of Epstein’s possible time of death.

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