Overview
- U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas unsealed the document Wednesday after a New York Times petition, placing the handwritten note on the court docket without ruling on its authenticity or chain of custody.
- The undated, unsigned note—scrawled on yellow legal paper—includes lines such as “They investigated me for months — FOUND NOTHING!!!” and “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye,” and was allegedly found in July 2019 by cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione tucked inside a graphic novel.
- The Justice Department said it had never seen the document and it was not in the millions of pages of Epstein-related records released in recent months, though federal prosecutors did not oppose unsealing.
- Karas deemed the filing a judicial document subject to public access; a court chronology said Tartaglione’s lawyers had authenticated the note but did not explain the method used.
- Epstein’s August 2019 death was ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner, and documented jail failures—guards sleeping or browsing the internet instead of checking on him—have kept public scrutiny high, which this newly public note could intensify as journalists and investigators seek verification.