Overview
- Tova Noel, the former Metropolitan Correctional Center guard on duty in 2019, sat for a transcribed, closed-door House Oversight interview Monday as part of the panel’s Epstein inquiry.
- Justice Department records show Noel searched Google for “latest on Epstein in jail” less than an hour before he was found dead, though she later told investigators she did not remember making those searches.
- Surveillance cited by the DOJ inspector general shows a corrections officer believed to be Noel carrying linen near Epstein’s cell, while Noel has denied giving him extra linen that could be used as a noose.
- Lawmakers have flagged roughly $12,000 in cash deposits into Noel’s account before Epstein’s death, and FBI reviews of her bank records found no evidence of a bribe.
- Prosecutors charged Noel and another guard in 2019 with falsifying inmate-check logs, and the government dropped those charges in 2021 after they agreed to cooperate with investigators.