A report has undercut the Department of Justice’s assertion that a video it released this week of Jeffrey Epstein’s final hours alive in prison is “full raw” and unedited.
An analysis by Wired determined that the hours-long footage, released by the DOJ to quell conspiracies involving Epstein’s 2019 in-custody suicide, was “likely modified” using the professional video editing software Adobe Premiere Pro.
“The file appears to have been assembled from at least two source clips, saved multiple times, exported, and then uploaded to the DOJ’s website,” the magazine wrote.
That conclusion was reached by video forensics experts who studied the footage’s metadata. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley whose research focuses on digital forensics and misinformation, told Wired that the footage would not be considered valid evidence in court.
“If a lawyer brought me this file and asked if it was suitable for court, I’d say no. Go back to the source. Do it right,” he said. “Do a direct export from the original system—no monkey business.”
Faird said his issues with the clip go beyond its metadata, however. He claims its aspect ratio shifts “noticeably” at multiple points.
“Why am I suddenly seeing a different aspect ratio?” he remarked to Wired.
The professor suggested that the Trump administration should pull the clip directly from prison security cameras and show it to the world. Otherwise, conspiracies will continue to run amok.
Such a finding is sure to increase pressure on President Donald Trump and his administration, which has been subjected to infighting this week over its handling of sensitive information regarding Epstein.
Trump promised during his latest campaign to declassify details about Epstein’s associates and divulge the circumstances surrounding his suicide, which many on the right believe may have been a secretive homicide to keep Epstein from implicating the rich and powerful in court.
MAGA diehards have grown impatient with the lack of movement on the issue from Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The controversy escalated on Monday when a leaked FBI and DOJ memo stated that there was no so-called Epstein “client list” despite Bondi claiming in February that such a list was on her desk. The White House confirmed the memo is authentic, and Trump, who has been photographed with Epstein, has scoffed that the saga is still dragging on.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump asked a reporter who called out a question to Bondi about Epstein. “This guy’s been talked about for years … We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things, and are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”
Wired’s report does not provide evidence that the footage was deceptively edited. Still, experts said the DOJ did itself no favors when it referred to the edited footage as “raw” in a case that has been draped in conspiracy since day one.
Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, said he is beginning to suspect a MAGA coverup of sorts.
I am probably among the least conspiracy minded people you would ever meet but this is getting pretty nearly impossible to explain. https://t.co/ajyh8ueM1T
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 11, 2025
“I am probably among the least conspiracy-minded people you would ever meet, but this is getting pretty nearly impossible to explain,” he posted in response to Wired’s report.
The DOJ and the FBI declined to comment on Wired’s findings, but did not deny its reporting. Spokespeople for both agencies did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
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