Even with the release of many of the Epstein files, a mystery endures: Who was behind a series of posts on the internet forum 4chan announcing Epstein’s death in 2019 nearly 40 minutes before the story broke in the national news?
”Dont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest,” a 4chan user wrote on the morning of August 10.
It would be another 38 minutes before an ABC News journalist posted on social media about the sex offender’s death, which occurred as Epstein was awaiting trial in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.
The post marked the first public sign Epstein was dead, Buzzfeed reported.
Over the years, the Justice Department sought to uncover more information about who was behind the post as it investigated Epstein’s death, deemed a suicide by officials.
In August of 2019, it subpoenaed 4chan.
Business Insider first reported about federal officials describing their search for the 4chan poster.
Records released by the Justice Department show that the forum returned records on a series of four 2019 posts tied to two IP addresses, including a deleted post featuring an early Epstein conspiracy theory claiming the financier was wheeled out of prison and “switched” with another person against prison rules.
Still, the hunt for the individual’s identity proved illusive. Prosecutors even subpoenaed AT&T using the IP addresses 4Chan provided, but it still did not return positive results.
“AT&T is unable to provide any information in response to the Legal Demand because AT&T does not maintain records in the normal course of business that associate individual accounts or devices with wireless dynamic IP addresses,” the telecom company told federal investigators.
By 2020, investigators said the effort had been a bust.
As part of the case, later settled in a deal with prosecutors, against the guards who were tasked with monitoring Epstein the night of his death, a federal prosecutor told their lawyers in July 2020 that the government had been unable to find identity of the 4chan poster.
“The Government has produced all records we have obtained regarding the 4Chan post,” the official wrote. “The poster used a dynamic IP, and therefore the records obtained did not disclose the author of the post.”
The Independent has contacted the FBI and DOJ for comment.
Epstein’s death in prison continues to generate intrigue.
Multiple reviews have concluded Epstein died by suicide, though his brother Mark Epstein insists new autopsy details will prove the death was a murder.
“Jeffrey was murdered, and more autopsy facts will be coming out in February that prove it,” Mark Epstein told NewsNation last month.
Investigators continue to comb through Epstein materials, and lawmakers deposed both former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton this week as part of a congressional probe.
