Newly released footage from the Jeffrey Epstein estate reveals the convicted sex offender installed hidden cameras throughout his Palm Beach, Florida mansion, prompting renewed scrutiny of the extent of his surveillance and potential exploitation of victims. The grainy video clips, recovered from the latest release of the “Epstein Files,” show Epstein and multiple women, including his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, inside his home.
An email exchange from February 2014, obtained by Sky News, details Epstein’s request to an aide for the purchase of “three motion-detected hidden cameras.” The aide responded within hours, confirming the purchase and stating they were being installed inside tissue boxes. The email read, “Jeffrey, I already purchased the Motion sensor camera from the Spy Store in fort Lauderdale yesterday, I charged them last night and figuring our how to work them as we speak … I’m installing them into Kleenex boxes now.”
The footage corroborates accounts from survivors who have alleged they were secretly recorded by Epstein, adding another layer to the accusations of abuse and control. Detectives investigating Epstein’s activities in 2005 discovered two “clock cameras” during a raid of the Palm Beach property. According to a 2010 deposition by Palm Beach Detective Jo Recarey, the cameras captured images of Epstein and individuals believed to be associates and potential victims. Recarey stated the footage showed Epstein at his desk and what appeared to be other individuals, though positive identification was not always possible.
The newly released footage appears to show a carriage clock with visible wiring, consistent with the location of one of the cameras discovered during the 2005 raid. Epstein, prior to his death by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, claimed the cameras were for security purposes and dismissed reports of secret surveillance as “misleading,” asserting that authorities were aware of their presence. However, this claim contradicts findings from The New York Times, which reported photographs showing at least three surveillance cameras in Epstein’s bedroom and adjoining rooms in his New York townhouse.
This discrepancy also challenges a recent assertion by federal prosecutors, who stated last year they had not found cameras in the bedroom or elsewhere in the townhouse aside from the entryway. Donald Trump, in a 2006 phone call to then-Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, reportedly expressed his disapproval of Epstein and described Ghislaine Maxwell as “evil,” according to a Department of Justice document. Reiter recounted Trump telling him, “people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting.”
The Palm Beach mansion, where much of the alleged abuse occurred, was demolished in 2021. Investigators have stated that underage girls reported being assaulted at Epstein’s Florida mansion, as well as properties in New York, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The release of the Epstein Files continues to fuel calls for transparency and accountability surrounding the investigation into Epstein’s crimes and the network of individuals associated with him.