A US judge has ordered the unsealing of a handwritten note allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein in July 2019, a month before his death. The note claims that a months-long investigation into his actions “found nothing” and includes the statement: “Being able to choose my own time to say goodbye is a pleasant experience.”
Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, claims he discovered the note hidden inside a book after Epstein’s first suicide attempt in July 2019.
Tartaglione is a former police officer and convicted quadruple murderer. While Epstein once accused her of assault in their shared cell, Tartaglione denied it and first went public about the note’s existence on a podcast last year.
The document was originally kept under seal as part of Tartaglione’s own criminal proceedings, but has now been released by court order. No BBC Nor have US officials officially confirmed the note’s authorship or authenticity.
Epstein died in his cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking; His death was officially ruled a suicide by authorities.
new York Times filed a petition to release the notes, arguing that there is no longer a legitimate reason for secrecy.
Federal prosecutors supported the release, saying that Nicholas Tartaglione’s public comments about the note on the podcast effectively waived any requirement for it to remain sealed.
The judge wrote that unsealing the notes promotes accountability and helps ensure that the public has confidence in how the justice system is conducted.
The court ruled that Tartaglione’s repeated public discussions about the contents of the note meant he had waived attorney-client privilege over the document.
The decision comes amid ongoing public scrutiny and speculation about Epstein’s death, sparked by documented security failures at the prison on the night he died.
