WASHINGTON — A former federal corrections officer who was on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died told members of Congress that the convicted sex offender received “special treatment” inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, lawmakers told ABC News.
Tova Noel, who has said she believes she was the last person to see Epstein alive, appeared May 18 for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of its renewed review of Epstein’s 2019 death in federal custody.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., told ABC News that Noel testified that Epstein had access to extra bed linens, a CPAP machine and medication “in a way no one else did.”
“Jeffrey Epstein got special treatment in that facility,” Subramanyam said.
Epstein died by suicide, according to the New York medical examiner. A 2023 Justice Department inspector general report found a series of failures at Metropolitan Correctional Center contributed to Epstein being left alone and unmonitored for hours before he was found dead.
Noel and another officer were charged in 2019 with falsifying records to make it appear they had completed required inmate checks. The charges were later dropped after both officers complied with deferred prosecution agreements.
The inspector general report found video showed an officer believed to be Noel carrying linen or inmate clothing toward the tier where Epstein was housed around 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019. Investigators said that was the last time an officer approached the tier before Epstein was found dead the next morning.
Noel has denied giving Epstein excess linen, according to ABC News. She also told investigators she believed she was the last person to see him alive, around 10 p.m. on Aug. 9.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said Noel also addressed cash deposits totaling about $12,000 that she received between April 2018 and July 2019, telling lawmakers the deposits had nothing to do with Epstein. ABC News reported that grand jury transcripts released earlier this year showed the FBI reviewed her bank records and found no evidence of a bribe.
The interview came amid broader congressional scrutiny of the Epstein case and related questions involving Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators Tuesday that the Justice Department would not recommend a pardon for Maxwell, Axios reported. Blanche’s statement would apply only to DOJ’s recommendation and would not prevent a president from granting clemency.
