A federal judge in New York has released a document said to be a suicide note written by late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though the court stopped short of confirming whether the note is authentic.
The handwritten note was made public Wednesday after US District Judge Kenneth Karas ruled that it qualified as a judicial document subject to public access. The document surfaced as part of the criminal case involving Nicholas Tartaglione, Epstein’s former jail cellmate.
Epstein died in August 2019 while being held in a Manhattan federal jail as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, but the circumstances surrounding it have fueled years of public speculation and conspiracy theories.
The newly released document was reportedly discovered by Tartaglione during the roughly two weeks the two men shared a jail cell in July 2019. According to court filings, the note was handwritten on a yellow legal pad and included several emotional and defiant statements.
“They investigated me for month – Found NOTHING!!! So 15 year old charges resulted,” the note stated.
Another line read: “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.”
Tartaglione, who is serving four consecutive life sentences for drug-related murders, had previously mentioned the alleged note during a podcast interview. Public accounts say the document was hidden inside a book in the pair’s shared cell.
The note gained renewed attention after a report by The New York Times revealed it had apparently never been reviewed by federal investigators and was absent from the millions of Epstein-related files released by the Justice Department in recent years. The newspaper later formally requested its release in court.
Epstein’s case continues to attract widespread attention because of his connections to wealthy and influential figures across politics, business, and entertainment. In 2025, Congress passed bipartisan legislation requiring the Justice Department to release files connected to the Epstein investigation.
Donald Trump, who previously acknowledged having known Epstein socially, initially opposed the measure before signing it into law later that year. Since then, millions of pages of documents have been made public, though some lawmakers have questioned whether the disclosures have been complete.
Congressional investigators are also continuing their own probe into Epstein’s network and connections. Several former and current officials have been subpoenaed to testify, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, scrutiny has also turned toward Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Committee chairman James Comer accused Lutnick of not being fully truthful about the timeline of his relationship with Epstein after records reportedly showed meetings continuing years after Lutnick claimed their ties had ended.
Despite years of investigations and public fascination surrounding Epstein’s death and social circle, no additional individuals in the United States have been criminally charged in direct connection to Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking network.
