The New York Times has formally petitioned a New York court to release a purported suicide note from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, escalating a push for transparency in a case that continues to generate public and political scrutiny.
The newspaper filed a motion Thursday with the judge overseeing the case, seeking to unseal a note that Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, claims he discovered in July 2019—about a month before Epstein died in federal custody. The note was later sealed as part of Tartaglione’s criminal proceedings, according to court records.
In a report titled “Jeffrey Epstein’s Possible Suicide Note Hidden From Public View,” the Times argued that making the note public “could provide insights into his state of mind” in the days leading up to his death, which was officially ruled a suicide. A Department of Justice spokesperson told the outlet that the department has no record of the note.
Tartaglione, a former police officer now serving four life sentences in a California federal prison, told the Times he found the note after Epstein was moved to a different area of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, where he had been placed on suicide watch. The note was tucked between the pages of a graphic novel in Tartaglione’s cell. “I opened the book to read and there it was,” he recalled, describing a piece of paper torn from a legal pad.
According to Tartaglione, the note stated that investigators “found nothing” in their inquiry into Epstein, and ended with: “What do you want me to do, bust out crying? Time to say goodbye.” Tartaglione said he gave the note to his lawyers as a potential safeguard in case Epstein accused him of any harm. A guard later prevented him from retrieving the note from his cell, he added.
Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, instructed him to hand the note to the next attorney who visited. That lawyer, John Wieder, along with Barket, attempted to authenticate the document. Barket declined to comment to the Times. “My lawyers at the time wanted to make sure, you know, I didn’t write it,” Tartaglione said in a July 2025 podcast interview.
The Times reported that Tartaglione’s lawyers did authenticate the note, though the method remains unclear. A two-page document in the DOJ’s online Epstein file collection indicates that Tartaglione, referred to as “NT,” found the note “Sometime between 7/23 and 7/27.” The document, titled “Chronology,” does not explain who wrote it or why the inmates are identified only by initials.
The note was not among the documents released after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law last year. Trump, who had a prior relationship with Epstein, has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s activities. The DOJ’s release of Epstein files under former Attorney General Pam Bondi drew sharp criticism from lawmakers, who accused her of heavy redactions, leaving victims’ names unredacted, and failing to comply with the law’s timeline. Bondi has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on May 29, following a separate federal probe into the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files.
The push for the note’s release comes amid broader congressional scrutiny of the Epstein case. The House Oversight Committee has confirmed Bondi will testify after she skipped a previously scheduled deposition, prompting a Democratic-led contempt resolution.
