Massive Shredding of Documents at Epstein's Jail Reported to FBI

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A new investigative report has revealed that a corrections officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan told the FBI that massive bags of documents were being shredded at the jail in the days after Jeffrey Epstein's death on August 10, 2019. An inmate was directed to haul multiple bags of shredded material to a dumpster, and the corrections officer who witnessed this unusual activity contacted the FBI to report his concerns about the potential destruction of records related to the investigation.

Why it matters

The shredding of documents at the jail where Epstein died has raised suspicions of potential obstruction of the investigation into his death, which was officially ruled a suicide but has been disputed by some forensic experts. The timing of the shredding, which occurred while an 'After Action Review' team from the Federal Bureau of Prisons was examining the circumstances of Epstein's death, has further fueled concerns about the transparency and integrity of the investigation.

The details

According to the report, an inmate identified as Steven Lopez was directed to haul multiple bags of shredded material, described as 'bales,' to a dumpster at the jail's rear gate on August 15 and again on August 16. Lopez told a veteran corrections officer, Michael Kearins, 'They are shredding everything back there.' Kearins, who said he had 'never seen this amount of bags of shredded documents coming out to be put in the dumpster,' contacted the FBI's National Threat Operations Center on August 16 to report the unusual shredding. In a follow-up memo, Kearins wrote that the shredding appeared inappropriate and urged an investigation, stating, 'I believe that this conduct may be inappropriate for an investigative team to be shredding paperwork related to the investigation, and you may want to investigate why BOP employees are destroying records.'

• On August 15, 2019, an inmate was directed to haul multiple bags of shredded material to a dumpster at the jail's rear gate.
• On August 16, 2019, the same inmate was again directed to haul multiple bags of shredded material to the dumpster.
• On August 16, 2019 at 6:28 p.m., a corrections officer contacted the FBI's National Threat Operations Center to report the unusual shredding.
• On August 19, 2019 around 11 a.m., the corrections officer wrote a memo to investigators expressing concerns about the shredding and urging an investigation.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The U.S. Attorney's Office has opened multiple probes into aspects of the Epstein case, including potential obstruction. An Office of Inspector General investigation interviewed Lopez and others, but the matter was closed without further apparent action.