Explosive DOJ email from 2020 flat-out calls Epstein’s death a ‘murder’, and the plot just thickened

At the tail-end of Trump‘s first term in 2020, a Department of Justice attorney sent an email referring to Jeffrey Epstein‘s death as murder, according to a recently released Epstein document.

Officials redacted the sender’s name, but the document shows an “AUSA in EDNY”—an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York—sent the email. The government also redacted the recipient’s name. The message reads,

“I’m an AUSA in EDNY and am working on an investigation into the death of an inmate at the Brooklyn MDC [Metropolitan Detention Center in Aug. 2019]. It goes on to say,

The [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner] told me that it signed a confidentiality agreement in connection with the investigation into the murder of Jeffrey Epstein. We were hoping to extend a similar agreement and I wanted to see if you could share the agreement (or a boilerplate version of it). I’m happy to speak over the phone if that’s easier.”

Officials ruled Epstein’s death a suicide, but several suspicious circumstances led many to believe someone killed him. Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, recently told Don Lemon he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the White House conspired to cover up Jeffrey’s death in Aug. 2019.

“And there it is”

Many journalists were alarmed to see a direct reference to murder in connection with Epstein’s death. Journalist Alias Vaughn wrote on X,

And there it is. We all knew Epstein was murdered back when it happened… and now an email from an Assistant US Attorney confirms that the investigation was into a murder, not suicide. Don Lemon just talked about this with Epstein’s brother the other day.”

What happened to Jeffrey Epstein?

Other details in federal records have led observers to raise additional questions surrounding Epstein’s death. The Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General reviewed surveillance footage from the Metropolitan Detention Center. The video shows an unexplained orange-colored figure climbing a stairwell toward Epstein’s housing unit the night before officials found him unresponsive.

Investigators ultimately concluded the shape was likely a corrections officer carrying linens or clothing. However, independent analysts and online commentators disagree. They argue the figure more closely resembles a person in an orange jail jumpsuit.

The DOJ Inspector General’s 2023 report maintained that staffing failures and negligence—not homicide—allowed Epstein to take his own life. New York City’s medical examiner still officially rules the death a suicide by hanging.

As recently as July, 2025, Trump’s DOJ and FBI officials in his second term insisted Epstein died by suicide, and there was “no client list,” or evidence that Epstein blackmailed anyone. They also denied evidence that could “predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” according to Axios.