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The OIG Report Into Jeffrey Epstein's Death: The Events Of August 8-10 And Epstein's Death (Chapter 5)( Part 4) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
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  In this episode, we're going to pick back up with
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  the OIG report and continue on with the official narrative
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  of the United States Government into the circumstances surrounding the
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  death of Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein is allowed to make an
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  unmonitored telephone call on August ninth. For safety and security reasons.
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  BOP policy requires that all inmate telephone calls be made
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  through the inmate telephone system. BOP records reflect that Epstein
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  placed an unrecorded, unmonitored telephone call to a telephone number
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  in the local six four to six area code using
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  a non inmate telephone system line on August ninth, twenty nineteen,
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  from six fifty eight pm to seven nineteen pm. No
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  other BOP records exist regarding the unmonitored call, including identity
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  of the person called or a summary of the conversation.
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  The OIG found no evidence that Epstein signed an acknowledgment
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  of inmate form, as required by BOP policy and necessary
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  for him to use a non inmate telephone system line.
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  The acknowledgment of inmate form provides, among other things, that
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  the GOP reserves the authority to monitor and record non
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  attorney conversations on any telephone located within the institution to
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  preserve the security and orderly management of the institution and
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  to protect the public. The OIG did not find that
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  any notification was made to the mcc New York Special
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  Investigative Services staff advising the telephone call had been made,
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  the day and time of the telephone call, the name
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  of the person being called, Epstein's name and register number,
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  or a brief statement explaining the purpose of Epstein's telephone call,
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  as BOP policy requires. The Evening Watch Operations Lieutenant told
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  the OIG that when he was preparing to escort Epstein
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  back to the Shoe from the attorney conference room on
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  August ninth, twenty nineteen, a unit manager said to the
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  Evening Watch Operations lieutenant that he was going to escort
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  Epstein so he could provide Epstein with the opportunity to
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  place a telephone call using an unrecorded legal telephone line
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  that is utilized by inmates to call their attorneys. The
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  unit manager was the institutional duty officer. The week of
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  Epstein's death, the Northeast Regional Director told the OIG at
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  an institutional duty officer is a supervisor who monitors the
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  facility on non duty hours on behalf of the warden
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  when the warden is not present. The captain told the
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  OIG that he had authorized the unit manager to provide
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  Epstein with a telephone call from the Shoe on August ninth,
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  twenty nineteen, because he wanted to accommodate Epstein's request for
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  a telephone call since Epstein was assigned to the Shoe
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  and had limited ability to place telephone calls. The captain
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  explained that when the unit manager was escorting Epstein from
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  his attorney visit back to the Shoe, he told the
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  unit manager in the elevator that Epstein could place a
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  telephone call from the Shoe, but it had to be
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  monitored and lobbed. The unit manager told the OIG that
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  he worked on August ninth from approximately eleven am to
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  seven pm. The unit manager explained that on August ninth,
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  Epstein asked to call his mother and that it was
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  his understanding that Epstein had not been able to obtain
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  the necessary documentation to use the inmate telephone system for
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  various reasons, including the fact that Epstein was with his
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  attorneys during normal working hours as described below. Epstein had
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  in fact completed the requisite BOP paperwork that allowed him
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  to place calls through the inmate telephone say. The unit
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  manager said the decision to allow Epstein to place the
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  call was his loan as the unit manager and because
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  as the institutional duty officer, he was representing the warden
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  who was not physically within mcc New York at the time.
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  The unit manager said he did not recall having a
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  conversation with the captain about permitting Epstein to make the call,
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  and he would have allowed the call even if the
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  Captain did not want him to, given it was his
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  decision to make as the unit manager. The unit manager
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  explained that he viewed ensuring that inmates had family socialization
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  as part of his job, and he would allow inmates
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  to place telephone calls if they were unable to make
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  calls under ordinary circumstances. The unit manager told the OIG
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  that at approximately six forty five pm, he and the
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  Senior Officer Specialist I escort at Epstein from the attorney
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  conference room to the shoe so that Epstein could place
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  a telephone call. The unit manager said he put Epstein
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  in the shower area to make the telephone call because
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  CEOs were present in that area. The unit manager explained
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  that he also chose the shower because that location in
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  shirt Epstein would not be able to pull the phone
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  cord into his cell and use it to harm himself.
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  The unit manager said he plugged the telephone line into
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  the legal line, which was not recorded, and dialed the
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  telephone number that Epstein provided. As noted above, the number
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  was dialed was in the local six four to six
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  area code. The unit manager said he allowed Epstein to
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  place the telephone call on the unrecorded legal line because
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  he believed that Epstein had not set up his inmate
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  telephone system account that would have allowed him to call
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  on the institution's recorded lines. According to the unit manager,
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  a mail answered and the unit manager handed the receiver
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  to Epstein. The unit manager heard Epstein say, Hey, how
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  are you doing? How's everything. The unit manager admitted that
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  he should have verified who was on the line, as
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  Epstein had requested to make the telephone call to speak
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  with his mother and it was a male who answered
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  the phone. The unit manager said he could not verify
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  the phone number because he believed that Epstein did not
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  have his inmate telephone system account set up, and he
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  did not have any phone numbers associated with his account.
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  The unit manager told the OIG that after he handed
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  the telephone to Epstein, his shift ended, so he left
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  the Shoe and left mcc new York for the day.
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  The unit manager said that when he left the Shoe,
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  Epstein was still on the phone, and the evening watched
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  Shoe officer in charge and Noel were at the officer's desk,
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  and that senior officer Specialist one was also present. According
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  to the unit manager, when he was leaving, he told
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  the officers, hey, make sure he gets his fifteen minutes
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  and after that he's done. The unit manager said he
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  did not provide the shoe staff with instructions to monitor
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  the call. He said that after he left, he contacted
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  Noel on the shoe telephone and asked her to make
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  sure that Epstein's call had ended because his time was up.
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  The unit manager acknowledged that he did not stay and
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  monitor the call as he should have done. The unit
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  manager said the proper way to have an inmate place
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  a telephone call on an unmonitored line would be to
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  bring the inmate out and place them in a belly chain,
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  because then he would be handcuffed in the front. The
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  unit manager said he should have provided Epstein with the phone,
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  with the counselor or unit team member present and place
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  the call on speaker so the call was monitored. The
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  OIG investigation determined that Epstein did not in fact speak
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  with his mother, who, according to public records, died in
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  two thousand and four. The OIG found that Epstein actually
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  spoke with Individual One, who declined to be interviewed by
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  the OIG. Individual one's lawyer told the US Attorney's Office
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  for the Southern District of New York during an attorney
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  proffer that Individual one spoke with Epstein on August ninth,
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  twenty nineteen, at about seven pm for approximately twenty minutes.
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  Individual one's attorney proffer was that Individual one was in
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  the country of Belarus at the time of the call.
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  Individual one's attorney told the US Attorney's office that during
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  the telephone call, Epstein told Individual one that the press
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  had gotten crazy, and they discussed personal things such as books, music,
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  and hygiene while incarcerated. According to the representations by Individual
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  one's council, Epstein told Individual one they are trying to
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  keep me safe and that his case would take a
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  little longer than he originally thought. He told Individual one
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  that he loved her to be strong and that he
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  would not be able to call her again for another month.
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  Senior Officer Specialist one told THEID that he was not
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  a witness to Epstein's August ninth call, but he had
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  previously discussed telephone calls with Epstein and knew that Epstein
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  had the requisite paperwork that allowed him to place calls
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  through the inmate telephone system. Senior Officer Specialist one told
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  the OIG that Epstein was issued the necessary documentation to
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  make telephone calls when Inmate one was his cellmate. Senior
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  Official Specialist one who advised the OIG about an interaction
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  that he had with one of Epstein's attorneys prior to
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  August ninth, when he was on an elevator with Epstein
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  and the attorney. According to Senior Official Specialist one, Epstein's
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  attorney asked him about getting Epstein the necessary documentation to
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  make calls. Senior Officer Specialist one said he then verified
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  that Epstein was able to make calls through the inmate
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  telephone system. When Senior Officer Specialist one asked Epstein why
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  he said he was unable to make calls. Epste Dean responded,
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  they said they monitor those phone calls. Senior Officer Specialist
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  one said that in subsequent conversations with Epstein's attorney, the
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  attorney asked how Epstein could get unmonitored calls. Senior Officer
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  Specialist one told Epstein's attorney that decision had to be
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  made by a lieutenant or a unit manager. Noel told
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  the OIG that after Epstein's attorney conference on August ninth,
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  the unit manager plugged the telephone line in the legal
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  line and placed Epstein in a shower area within the shoe,
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  where he was afforded a telephone call. The OIG investigation
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  determined that legal line is an unrecorded telephone line outside
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  of the inmate telephone system, which is designed for inmates
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  to use when speaking with their council, and therefore is
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  not recorded. Noel said that after the unit manager set
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  Epstein up with the call, he left the shoe and
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  did not instruct Noel or anyone else to Noel's night
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  college to monitor Epstein's call. According to Noel, the call
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  was not monitored or logged. Noel said that approximately fifteen
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  to twenty minutes later, while Epstein was still using the telephone,
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  the unit manager called the shoe staff via telephone, told
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  Noel that Epstein's time was up and asked that Noel
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  retrieved the telephone from Epstein. Noel estimated that Epstein's call
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  lasted for twenty minutes, and said the Evening Watched Shoe
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  officer in charge and the material handler were also present
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  in the shoe during Epstein's phone call. Noel reported that
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  she took the phone back from Epstein, left Epstein alone
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  in the shower, and went to use the bathroom on
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  ten South. Noel said upon her return, Epstein was already
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  placed back in his cell. The Evening Watched Shoe officer
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  in charge told the OIG that he was present in
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  the shoe on August ninth during the time of Epstein's
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  telephone call, but did not overhear Epstein's conversation. The Evening
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  Watch Shoe officer in charge also said that while Epstein
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  was having his telephone call, the officers were distracted by
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  the actions of another inmate. The material handler said he
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  did not recall seeing the unit manager or Epstein in
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  the shower area on the night of August ninth, and
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  did not have any knowledge or information regarding a phone
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  call made by Epstein that night. The Northeast Regional Director
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  told the OIG, if Epstein's call was monitored by an
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  mcc New York official, then it should have been done
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  on a speaker phone while being monitored by a staff member,
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  and the call should have been logged and a record
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  of the call should have been created. The Northeast Regional
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  Director said Epstein's unmonitored phone call was extremely concerning because
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  we don't know what happened on the phone call. It
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  could have potentially led to the incident of Epstein's death,
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  but we don't. We will never know, all right, folks.
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  So that's gonna do it for part four of chapter five.
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  The next episode, we have part five of Chapter five,
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  which is the failure to conduct shoe inmate counts and
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  staff rounds on August ninth and tenth. All of the
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  information that goes with the episode can be found in
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  the description box.