Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Tova Noel And The Transcript From Her Congressional Testimony (Part 6) (6/20/26)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
- 0:03Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up
- 0:06where we left off with the Tovin o Weell interview
- 0:10with Congress. Question. You touched on it previously, but you're
- 0:15all in one place for your two shifts in the
- 0:18shoe on August ninth and tenth. Who were your co
- 0:20workers for each shift? Answer? So, on August ninth it
- 0:25was myself, BONHAMI and David. On August tenth it was
- 0:28myself and Thomas. Question and I think you had said
- 0:32that was your first time working with Thomas? Is that right? Answer? Correct? Question?
- 0:36How about for a BONHAMI and David answer? I work
- 0:40with Davis? Yes, so for I worked with Davis before,
- 0:43and I worked across from BONHAMI before. Question and for
- 0:48all three of those colleagues, what was the chain of
- 0:50command if there was one between you? Did you report
- 0:53to any of those individuals? Answer? No, we're all correctional officers.
- 0:58The only one that would have had a different type
- 1:00would have been Michael Thomas as the materials handler. Question
- 1:04were all of them or any of them senior to you? Answer? Senior,
- 1:09as they've been there longer than me. Yes. Question is
- 1:12that a case for all three of them? Answer all
- 1:15of them? Correct question? When that was the case, would
- 1:19it typically be that, I know you would not report
- 1:21to them, but would they sort of practically or informally
- 1:25be in charge so to speak? Answer correct question? And
- 1:29so who are the lieutenants or supervisors for each of
- 1:32those shifts? Answer so on the fourth to midnight Kanada
- 1:36call to mandate me. So it was Kanada. And then
- 1:39on the midnight to eight in the morning, it was
- 1:42Lieutenant Anderson. Question, was this your first ever overnight shift
- 1:47at the Shoe? Answer correct question? Do you recall who
- 1:51was working in ten South for those two shifts? Answer
- 1:55for the four to midnight, don't recall. Midnight to eight
- 1:57it was Adam's question. Would it usually just one guard
- 2:01or one co and ten South? Answer? Yes, it's supposed
- 2:04to be two, but it's one question. Is that because
- 2:08you guys were undermanned short staffed? Answer correct question. Like
- 2:12to get a little bit more background on counts and rounds,
- 2:15I'll just start with counts, which I know you did
- 2:17discuss a little bit. Is it right that the basic
- 2:21purpose of account is to count the number of folks
- 2:23in the unit. Answer correct question. Okay. And the process
- 2:27for account I think as you described it involves two guards,
- 2:32Is that right? Answer correct question. One stands at the
- 2:35grille of the tier and the other goes down range.
- 2:38Answer correct question. And is counting inmates? Would that typically
- 2:42be as they see them through the cell window? Answer
- 2:46correct question? Okay? Would that ever involve opening a cell door?
- 2:50Or never? Answer never? Question? Would account typically involve visually
- 2:55confirming that an inmate is alive and breathing? Answer correct?
- 3:00And in terms of paperwork, writing the count down? What
- 3:04would be that process? Answer on the count slip, it
- 3:07will be the number that you counted. And remember it's
- 3:10two people counting, so it's like two people saying yes,
- 3:13we both agree to this coount. So it will be
- 3:15two signatures on the bottom of the count slip, and
- 3:18it will have the unit the name of the unit
- 3:20on there. Question. So, would one guard usually go downrange
- 3:24count and then you switch and the other guard goes
- 3:27and does the same thing? Answer correct question. And would
- 3:30you normally know what number you're supposed to get or
- 3:33is it just a matter of counting what you see? Question?
- 3:37I don't know if it's ever happened in your case,
- 3:39or if anybody ever mentioned But if there was a
- 3:41mismatch in the numbers, you're not seeing the number that
- 3:45you thought you would see. What would typically happen at
- 3:49that point? Answer? If there was a mismatch, recount to
- 3:52make sure that you counted accurately. If there's still a mismatch,
- 3:56then control, call Control. Question who were what is control?
- 4:01Just for us? Answer? Okay, so control is downstairs on
- 4:04the first floor, and these are the people that you
- 4:06report to count to because you have to call the
- 4:09count in control. Also, like when you come into the building,
- 4:13that's who you show your ID to. So it's like
- 4:15a control center, the officers downstairs in control. Question in
- 4:20terms of the count process that you just described, when
- 4:23you would either participate in it or see it happen,
- 4:25did it look different from what you just talked about
- 4:28or would it typically match your description of the process? Answer?
- 4:32It would typically match the description of the process. Question,
- 4:37and you did describe this also, But another thing that
- 4:40what happen during each shift would be rounds. Is that
- 4:43right answer? Correct question? And what's the purpose of a round? Answer?
- 4:48The purpose of a round is to make sure that
- 4:50the inmates are okay. Question and there are around logs.
- 4:54I think you said is that right answer? Yes? Correct question?
- 4:57And this is a one guard job or always two
- 5:00guards answer, So it will be two because you need
- 5:04one person to open the grill and one person to
- 5:06go down. But you're not verifying like how you would
- 5:09do with the count question? Got it? And is the
- 5:13round log I heard you talk about there need to
- 5:15be one? I think two signatures? Is that right answer? So, no,
- 5:19it doesn't the two signatures for the count slip the
- 5:22round log it's one. So if I made a round
- 5:25at ten and I logged it and I put my
- 5:27signature and I go down to the bottom tier, you
- 5:29can make the other round, or I can make all
- 5:32the rounds and then the next time you can make it.
- 5:34So rounds are not specific to a person. Question and
- 5:38what is you sign and you submit the round log?
- 5:41Is it trying to say? Is it obviously saying yes
- 5:44I did this round? Is it saying and nothing bad
- 5:46happened or everybody was fine? What's being signaled by the
- 5:50round slip answer? I would think that the round slip
- 5:54signaled like, yes, I made the round at this time.
- 5:56Question does it involve the same amount of making sure
- 5:59every inmate is breathing or is it something less than that?
- 6:03Answer yeah, every inmate's breathing. Question So is it essentially
- 6:07the same as count except you're not going through Answer
- 6:12correct question. You're not counting, got it. In terms of
- 6:15other required activities during a shift, what would those be?
- 6:18I think you mentioned feeding inmates dinner. Answer correct question,
- 6:23and that would be specific to the four PM to
- 6:25midnight shift. Right answer correct question? Okay? Anything else such
- 6:30as toilet trees or anything else? Answer yeah, toilet paper
- 6:34if you're given out toilet paper. Question is the toilet
- 6:37paper or toilet trees? Is that a thing that happens
- 6:39at a specific time for everybody or is it just
- 6:42as people ask for it? Answer? I'm not sure. If
- 6:46they ask for it, we give it to them. But
- 6:48I don't know if it's supposed to happen at a
- 6:49different time. Question. But in your experience, it was kind
- 6:53of whenever people say, Hey, I need some toilet paper.
- 6:56Answer correct question, Okay, anything else that would typically happen
- 7:00on every shift? Answer Order Lee's cleaning up. I mentioned
- 7:03that earlier order leeds will be out cleaning up or
- 7:06sometimes there's a little library an order, Lee can be
- 7:09a library reading while other than that, for the most part,
- 7:12the shoe is on lockdown. Question thank you. My colleague
- 7:16has a few questions about the timeline, so I'll turn
- 7:18it over. Answer okay, question, Miss Noel. I just have
- 7:24a few questions related to Epstein's time at MCC before
- 7:27August ninth and August tenth. Answer okay. Question. So it's
- 7:32our understanding from the OIG report that Epstein was arrested
- 7:35and brought to the MCC on July sixth, and that
- 7:39he was initially placed in general population, and then on
- 7:43July seventh, he was moved over to the shoe. Are
- 7:45you aware of that? Answer no question, okay, So it
- 7:49was your understanding that he was brought directly to the shoe.
- 7:52Answer to the shoe question okay. And we established earlier.
- 7:56I think that he was brought to the shoe because
- 7:58he was high profile and nature. Answer correct. Question. Did
- 8:04you hear anyone harassing Epstein in general population? Answer no question, okay.
- 8:08Did you hear anything about other inmates trying to get
- 8:11them to put money on their commissary accounts? Answer no question. Okay.
- 8:16Did you ever hear Epstein paying any other inmates to
- 8:18protect them, either in general pop or in the Shoe.
- 8:22Answer no, question. And when's the first time that you
- 8:26met or spoke to Ebstein? Answer? The first time that
- 8:28I spoke to Epstein would have been August ninth. Question Okay.
- 8:32On July eighth, Epstein was screened by a psychologist and
- 8:35was placed on psychological observation. Were you aware of that? Answer? Yes?
- 8:40Question and is this something that typically happens when an
- 8:43inmate is brought into the Shoe? Are they usually given
- 8:46a psychological screening? Answer they're supposed to? Question okay? And
- 8:51is that just when they're brought into the Shoe or
- 8:54when they're brought into general population or another unit? Answer
- 8:58that I'm not sure. Question Okay, you're just aware of
- 9:00the Shoe process. And we talked about the events on
- 9:04July twenty third, so I'm not going to get into that,
- 9:07but I would like to ask you a little bit
- 9:08about the suicide watch process. So it's our understanding that
- 9:12he was placed on suicide watch that same day, but
- 9:16then he was taken off suicide watch the next morning
- 9:18on July twenty fourth. Is that your understanding as well? Answer? Yes.
- 9:23Question okay, And what is suicide watch? Could you describe
- 9:26the process of that a little bit? Answer? So, when
- 9:30you're on suicide watch, you're not upstairs in the shoe
- 9:32question okay. Answer, you're downstairs in a holding cell with
- 9:37no garments, no shoe string. It's like a mock, like
- 9:40a Velcrose mock. And you're being watched twenty four hours
- 9:44by another inmate. Question okay, by another inmate? Answer correct.
- 9:48Question what about mcc staff? Is there staffers that work
- 9:53in the holding cell area as well? Answer I'm not sure.
- 9:56I just know the actual inmate has to be eyes,
- 9:58has to be on the person all the time by
- 10:01another inmate. As far as another staff, I'm not sure.
- 10:05Question okay, is the other inmate a cellmate or are
- 10:08they just there to watch? Answer? No, they wouldn't have
- 10:11been a cell mate. They're not even from the shoe.
- 10:14It would have been an inmate. Because some inmates are
- 10:16allowed to work, so that will be the inmate's job,
- 10:19like they're working. Question okay, And do you have an
- 10:23understanding of why someone's placed on suicide watch? Obviously we
- 10:27know why mister Epstein was, but other reasons that individuals
- 10:30would be placed on suicide watch. Answer if they're saying
- 10:35that they some people just say it, some people attempt
- 10:38they will be placed on suicide watch. I don't know
- 10:41of any other reason why they would be placed. Question okay.
- 10:45And how about why somebody would be taken off suicide Watch?
- 10:48Answer that I'm not aware of that process. Question okay?
- 10:53And was it normal? It sounds like mister Epstein was
- 10:55on suicide Watch for about twenty four hours. Is that
- 10:58a typical time from you your understanding? Answer I'm not
- 11:02aware of the process that would be the psychologist. Question okay.
- 11:06And do you know why mister Epstein was taken off
- 11:08suicide Watch? Answer? I don't know. Question okay. So then
- 11:12it's our understanding that he was moved to something called
- 11:15psychological observation and he was on under psychological observation from
- 11:20July twenty fourth to around July thirtieth. Is that correct
- 11:24to your recollection? Answer yes, question okay. And then could
- 11:28you just describe what psychological observation is? Answer I don't know.
- 11:33Question okay. Do you know if it looks similar to
- 11:36suicide watch? Answer? I have no idea. Question okay. Are
- 11:41you aware of whether inmates have a cell mate when
- 11:43they're under psychological observation. Answer I don't know. Question. The
- 11:48psychological observation also take place in the whole room or
- 11:52are they in the shoe? Answer psychological observation, I don't
- 11:56know question. Okay, So you're not aware of whether he
- 11:59was in the same holding answer right, I don't know question.
- 12:04But he was brought back to the shoe after that
- 12:06psychological observation ended to your understanding, Answer correct question on
- 12:11July thirtieth answer correct question, okay, and he was placed
- 12:15in a different cell when he was brought back. Answer
- 12:18correct because he wasn't with Tartaglioni anymore. Question. Yes, so
- 12:23that was when he was moved to el tier. Answer
- 12:26correct question. And to your understanding, before that, I think
- 12:30he was an M tier. Is that correct? Answer? I
- 12:33don't remember the letters, but he was on the bottom
- 12:37where he was with Tartaglioni before they were on the
- 12:40bottom of the middle tier. All right, folks, we're gonna
- 12:43wrap up right here, and in the next episode dealing
- 12:45with the topic, we're gonna pick up where we left off.
- 12:48All the information that goes with this episode can be
- 12:51found in the description box.