Pam Bondi sought to quell conspiracy theories by addressing the unexplained one-minute lapse in the surveillance video from outside Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell the night he died.

The attorney general entered damage control mode during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, responding to questions about a puzzling timestamp skip in the 11-hour recording.

The DOJ released the surveillance video on Monday in an attempt to quell rampant speculation that the billionaire pedophile was killed in prison. 

On Tuesday, Bondi insisted the one-minute gap in the video was part of a routine daily reset that takes place at the Metropolitan Detention Center. 

‘The video was not conclusive, but previous evidence indicated he committed suicide,’ Bondi stated, noting that the missing minute was not an occurrence unique to the Epstein footage.

‘There was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video… every night should have the same minute missing.’

She claimed the DOJ would look to release footage from other nights to prove the missing minute was a routine quirk of the prison’s surveillance system. 

‘We’re looking for that video to release that as well, to show that a minute is missing every night,’ she said. ‘And that’s it on Epstein.’

Bondi is already under fire from furious conservatives for failing to deliver promised revelations including an Epstein ‘client list’.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi was forced to explain a one-minute gap in the video of  Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell

Video sees the time code of 11:58:58pm before it suddenly skips one minute to midnight

The next frame of footage sees an entire minute having been skipped over – said to be a quirk of the video system at Metropolitan Correctional Center

The DOJ and FBI released the lengthy video as part of a broader memo reaffirming that Epstein’s death was a suicide while stressing that no ‘client list’ exists.

It was a direct contradiction of months of statements from Bondi herself and other Trump-aligned officials who suggested explosive disclosures were imminent.

An assortment of A-list politicians and socialites were known to have frequented Epstein parties and flown on the so-called Lolita Express to the billionaire’s private island. 

The surveillance footage, captured from the corridor outside Epstein’s cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 9 and 10, 2019, begins with what appears to be Epstein, clad in orange and handcuffed being escorted to his cell at 7:49pm by two guards. His face is obscured by a staircase handrail.

For the next several hours, the footage shows little activity. At 6:27am guards reappear with breakfast carts. At 6:30am a blurry figure is seen running back from the area of Epstein’s cell, and by 6:33am, the alarm is sounded. 

Epstein was pronounced dead six minutes later.

The goal of the video’s release was to definitively debunk the belief, widely held in right-wing circles, that Epstein was murdered. 

But instead, the missing minute has only served to inflame conspiracy theories further.

Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide – and a new memo from the Justice Department and FBI confirms that their findings are in line with that finding

The video shows Epstein being led to his cell around 7:49pm by two guards and then no more activity until around 6:30am, when breakfast carts were being brought to the prisoners

Investigators looked at footage from the night of August 9, 2019 at 10:40pm, when Epstein was locked in his cell until the next morning at around 6:30am, when he was found dead

As soon as the video was released, prominent Trump-aligned influencers erupted with accusations of a cover-up.

‘Assuming this leaked Epstein Files memo is true, then we all know this is a shameful coverup to protect the most heinous elites,’ tweeted MAGA personality Rogan O’Handley, known as DC Draino. 

Far-right figure Jack Posobiec fumed, ‘We were all told more was coming… Incredible how utterly mismanaged this Epstein mess has been.’

Even Elon Musk, who has recently distanced himself from Trump, posted a mocking meme of a clown applying makeup captioned: ‘First she said it’s on her desk. Then she said there’s no list.’

Much of the fury has focused on Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously raised expectations by telling Fox News in February, ‘It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.’

But on Tuesday, Bondi clarified she had been referring not to a literal client list but to the broader Epstein case file.

‘That’s what I meant by that,’ she insisted. 

She also defended earlier claims that the DOJ was combing through tens of thousands of videos that could include Epstein engaging in illicit acts with minors.

When pressed this week, she pivoted saying the videos amounted to child pornography downloaded by Epstein, rather than recordings of him abusing victims.

‘They turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,’ she said, without elaborating on when or how the material had been discovered. 

But critics remain unsatisfied especially after the DOJ memo released Monday stated no further disclosures would be made and declared flatly: ‘Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither victims nor justice.’

The backlash against Bondi has grown so fierce that even President Trump was forced to address it. 

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, when a reporter tried to question Bondi about the Epstein footage, Trump cut them off

The backlash against Bondi has grown so fierce that even President Trump was forced to address it

The memo from the FBI and DOJ announced that no one involved in the Epstein case will follow former right-hand woman Ghislaine Maxwell to prison, as no further charges will be filed

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, when a reporter tried to question Bondi about the Epstein footage, Trump cut them off.

‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,’ Trump snapped. ‘I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this… It just seems like a desecration.’

Trump’s rebuke, and public defense of Bondi, appeared designed to insulate her from conservative voices who now view her as having overpromised and underdelivered.

In February, Bondi invited far-right influencers to the White House and handed out binders labeled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1 – Declassified.’ Many of the documents were already public. The reception was disastrous.

‘It’s a new administration, and everything is going to come out to the public,’ Bondi had declared at the time. 

But Monday’s DOJ memo made clear that no further revelations were coming. 

It dismissed the idea of a client list, reiterated the conclusion of suicide, and stated that further disclosures were not ‘appropriate or warranted.’

The DOJ and FBI say no one else will be arrested and charged in connection to Epstein’s crimes. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell (right) is already serving a 20-year prison sentence 

Adding to the tension, FBI Director Kash Patel, once a leading skeptic of the official Epstein story, told Joe Rogan last month that his view had changed since taking office.

‘If I had it, I’d be the first guy to bring this case hard and fast,’ he said, referring to incriminating evidence. ‘I got here 100 days ago. I can’t be held to account for 20 years of failures.’

Patel said he had seen everything the FBI had legal access to from Epstein’s properties and had not found evidence of powerful figures engaging in illegal acts on tape.

‘We’re not gonna re-victimize women,’ Patel said. ‘We’re not gonna put that s*** back out there.’