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Podcast Summary: The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: Inside The OIG Interview: The Warden's Statement Detailing The Death Of Jeffrey Epstein (Part 1)

Host: Bobby Capucci
Date: April 7, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into a pivotal interview conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) with Lamine N’Jai, the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) during Jeffrey Epstein’s death. Host Bobby Capucci breaks down the warden’s statements, examining the timeline, the warden’s role, and critical questions surrounding the facility’s handling of Epstein, both in the wake of his first suicide attempt and his ultimate death. Capucci adopts his trademark investigative tone, determined to scrutinize every procedural detail and decision at the highest levels within the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the OIG Interview Format

Capucci explains he’ll recite questions (“Question”) and answers (“Answer”) as set forth in the original OIG interview with Warden Lamine N’Jai.
The interview begins with N’Jai sworn in.
- Notable quote:
  
  “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth during this interview? I do. Thank you, sir.” (00:36)

2. Warden Lamine N’Jai’s Background & Tenure

N’Jai details his 30+ years in the Bureau of Prisons, including warden roles and Deputy Regional Director in Philadelphia.
Became warden at MCC New York in May 2018, served until an unspecified date in 2020—confirming his oversight at the time of Epstein’s death.
- Notable clarification:
  
  "And August of 2019 though, you were warden at MCC New York? Yes, I was." (02:15)

3. The After Action Report: Exclusion of the Warden

OIG asks about the BOP “after action report” on Epstein’s death.
- N’Jai states he was neither consulted nor interviewed for the report, wasn’t familiar with its findings, and provided no input.
  - Quote:
    
    “So no role in the after action report? Nothing. I wasn’t interviewed, I wasn’t spoken to.” (03:42)

4. Initial Response to Epstein’s Death

On August 10, 2019, N’Jai was not at MCC when Epstein was found but was briefed and responded to the institution.
He did not enter the crime scene (“special housing unit”) per standard protocol.
- Procedure explained:
  
  “If it’s a crime scene, the least amount of people that you know that go through the crime scene, just don’t go into it.” (04:20)
His immediate duties:
- Notify regional/BOP leadership, FBI, Inspector General, and Epstein’s lawyer (as required).
- Gather initial information and provide updates.

5. Timelines and Internal Communications

N’Jai’s team compiled and relayed evolving incident timelines to BOP leadership and DOJ following the event.
- Multiple timeline updates occurred on August 10th, 12th, and 13th, 2019.
Host notes importance of reconstructing these timelines:
- Quote:
  
  “So these look like the timelines that you would have been gathering information and providing to Mr. Redacted?”
  “Okay, it looks like it.” (08:21)
N’Jai admits with so much going on, he doesn’t recall specifically where all information originated (logbooks, phone calls, etc.).

6. The First Suicide Attempt (July 23, 2019)

Capucci and the OIG run through the timeline beginning on July 23, 2019, covering Epstein’s first suicide attempt:
- Epstein found in fetal position, breathing but unresponsive.
- After initial assessment—“neck was red”—he was placed on suicide watch and received daily psychological evaluations.
- N’Jai clarifies:
  
  “Yeah, that is what it is in the report, but I want to clarify that…” (10:41)

7. The Day of Death & Cellmate Details

The investigation details Epstein’s cellmate movements:
- On August 9, 2019 at 8:00am, inmate Efren Reyes was transferred out of MCC “with all belongings” (WAB), meaning he was not returning—leaving Epstein alone.
  - Important context:
    
    “So at 8am Efren Reyes is actually leaving, not coming back to the mcc. Yes.” (15:10)
- Host and OIG underscore this timeline irregularity as a significant procedural detail.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On Warden’s lack of oversight in critical report:

“So no role in the after action report? Nothing. I wasn’t interviewed, I wasn’t spoken to.” – Lamine N’Jai (03:42)
On maintaining the integrity of the crime scene:

“If it’s a crime scene… least amount of people… just don’t go into it.” – Lamine N’Jai (04:20)
On timeline compilation chaos:

“There was so much going on that, you know, I don’t recall if it was from the logbooks or… calling around and trying to find out.” – Lamine N’Jai (09:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:15 – Bobby Capucci introduces the episode focus
01:15 – OIG swears in Warden Lamine N’Jai
02:15 – Confirmation of tenure as MCC warden during Epstein’s death
03:42 – N’Jai confirms he had no involvement in the “after action” report
04:20 – Warden describes standard protocol at crime scene
08:21 – Discussion of incident timelines and communications
10:41 – Review of Epstein’s initial (July 23) suicide attempt response
15:10 – Key details about Epstein’s cellmate Reyes being moved out

Conclusion & Preview

Bobby Capucci wraps the episode by confirming further detail will follow in the next session, promising a continued deep dive into timeline irregularities and internal communications among MCC staff. He reaffirms his commitment to thorough, untiring scrutiny of each facet of Epstein’s death as the complete story continues to unfold.

All referenced documents and timelines are accessible via the episode's description box.

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Transcript2 lines

[00:00]
A
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[00:15]
B
What's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're cracking open the Epstein files once again. And we're going to begin taking a look at at the OIG interview with the warden from MCC who was overseeing things when Jeffrey Epstein met his demise. And like usual, when I say question, that's coming from the investigators and answer. That means that the warden is answering the question. And the warden's name is Lamine nj. So we're going to start with the swearing in. Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth during this interview? I do. Thank you, sir. What's your current home address? Gives him the address and gives him his date of birth. Is it correct that you were interviewed regarding the Epstein matter on August 19, 2019? Yes. Question. Or in August of 2019? I know it was sometime in August. Question. Correct. Okay. How long have you worked for the BOP? Answer 30 years. And August, September, October, November? 30 years and three months. Question. Alright. And what's your current position with the bop? Answer I'm the warden at FCI Fort Dix. Question. Okay, you are the warden, you said? Yes. Were you previously a regional director? Answer. I was deputy Regional Director in Philadelphia. And how long have you been the warden at Fort Dix? About two to three weeks. It's a brand new position. It just got there. Yeah. Okay. How long were you the Deputy Regional Director? I got it in February. Okay. And as the Deputy Regional Director, what were your duties and responsibilities? Answer. Monitoring the activities of the 20 institutions in the region and you know, managing the administratives within the Northeast region and, you know, showing that institutions were running in an orderly fashion. Question. Now, did you supervise the various wardens at those institutions? Answer. Yes, I was over there. I was the rating official on some of the evaluations. And were you a warden prior to that position? Yes, I was. Where were you a warden in New York? Mcc. The Metropolitan Correctional center in New York. Question. And how long were you a warden there? I came from May of 1718. May of 18. Until I forget the date in 2020. I forget what it was. Okay, so May 2018 sometime to 2020 when you became the regional Director? No, the position prior to that I was given was a Liaison to the regional Director and then I went into the deputy position. Okay, sounds good. And August of 2019 though, you were a warden at MCC New York? Yes, I was. Question. Thank you, sir. And are you familiar with the inmate Jeffrey Epstein who was housed within the MCC in July and August of 2019? Answer yes. Question yes. Okay, great. What I have here is an after action report that was written by the bop. Have you seen this? Answer I have not seen it. Question all right, so this is not something that you're actually familiar with? No, I'm not. No one discussed any findings or anything like that with you? No one. Alright, I'm going to set this aside just in case we need to, you know, reference it. So no role in the after action report? Nothing. I wasn't interviewed, I wasn't spoken to. Alright, do you know of anybody interviewed other, or I mean talk to and at least about like providing the information that they utilized to this report? Answer no. Question no. Okay, fair enough. After the incident occurred, what was your role with determining what happened and what didn't happen after Epstein was found on August 10, 2019? Answer well, I responded to the institution at the time. When I got there, he was at the hospital. So I didn't go up to the unit as far as. Because it was a crime scene. And I've always been trained if it's a crime scene, if you weren't particularly there, the least amount of people that you know that go through the crime scene, just don't go into it. So I didn't go into it, but you know, basically gathering information on what happened, notifying the region, notifying the FBI, the ig, now his lawyer, the Warren's lawyer pipes up indiscernible. He already got that phone call. Hayes, who's the lawyer? Oh yeah, you know what I mean. Jeffrey Epstein. Like it. I'm going to sell. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's why we do it for the next six months. The warden. So there was a lot of notification on what happened, trying to find things out of the status of inmate Epstein and things more along those lines. Question now, did you help with gathering information up until a certain point and then were you told not to anymore or did you continue to gather? He gets cut off by the warden? No, like my boss was calling me, the regional director, they needed information, you know, starting a timeline on what happened. So I had my executive assistant there and you know, we would just gather any information and just, you know, making sure that, you know, the things that were requested were being provided to them. Any Information questioned. And who was the regional director at the time? It was redacted at the time. Okay, and then who are your executive assistants? Redacted, redacted and redacted. Now, as part of our investigation, we have to review everyone's emails with regard to the incident. Answer. Right. Question. So you mentioned that you provided Mr. Redacted with timelines and things like that. So these are just some timelines from, again, Mr. Epstein, I believe, was found around 6:33am in the special Housing unit. This is a timeline starting with. It looks like August 10, 2019 at 11:04am so a few hours after the fact, that it just says, see below, just to ensure you know what's being relayed to the DOJ now. And then what I have behind it is these are different timelines that are all updated throughout the day. Here's one that was at 2:21pm same date. And then the next one at 3:42pm and the next one, August 12th. And then the final one we have is the August 13th. So these. Do these look like the timelines that you would have been gathering information and providing to Mr. Redacted? Answer. Okay, it looks like it. Question. Now, where were you actually obtaining this information from? You said that Redacted was obtaining it for you. Answer. He was the exec. We recall in that I'm not too familiar on the specifics of how we got it because there was so much going on that, you know, I don't recall if it was from the logbooks or, you know, calling around and trying to find out. So I don't really recall all the specifics. Question. All right, well, rather than get into each one of these because it'll take too long, I'll just do the very first one. It says 7:23, 2019, at 1:27am Epstein found in fetal position in cell breathing, but would not acknowledge staff initially. So that's referring to the first initial attempt that Epstein may have had on his life. Answer. Let me see, which one are you talking the day of? No, this is. He gets cut off. This is July. This would be. We would have probably got this from sis. Question. Okay, answer from that. I thought you were referring to the actual suicide. Question. No, what I meant was just the information that was all put in there. As far as he gets cut off by Mr. Hayes. This was all his first attempt. The warden picks up after that. Well, it's everything, so. So it starts July 23rd. The next one is July 29th, and it goes August 9th, 2019. And then until. So it's only. There is only a few. That's why I was going to read it. Just because there is only like three paragraphs. Four or five. Four or five paragraphs. So this looks to me like we sent the information to the regional director and what he did was compile this information to send to the doj. Answer oh, okay, you're right. Question so this is just compiled off of several different documents which he condensed and he sent to you. I'm sorry, I read that incorrectly. So looking at this, then let's just review it and make each point. Just make sure that it's what you understand. It says on July 23, 2019, Epstein was found in a fetal position in cell breathing, but would not acknowledge staff initially. Right after removed, he interacted with the staff, speaking to staff, neck was red, placed on suicide watch and medical evaluation. Epstein received daily psychological evaluations while on suicide watch. Was that your recollection too? Answer yeah, that is what it is in the report, but I want to clarify that we went, you know, when I, when you first read it to me, I thought you meant the day of Question well, we have that too. Answer Right Question that, that one is here and this one is from you and this is what I thought it was starting with as well. Answer Right question Because it said timeline on it from you to Mr. Redacted. This initial one actually talks about Friday, August 9, 2019. It starts with 8:00am Inmate Reyes, registration number 85993054, departs for court. WAB USMS SDNY Reyes is Epstein's cellmate. So just starting with that, then I do have. We're going to get into that later. But what does that tell you? If it says in Mac, Reyes is departing for court, but it also says WAB US Ms. Sdny Answer so that would be with all belongings. Question so that means he's not returning, correct? Answer yes. Question all right, so at 8am Efren Reyes is actually leaving, not coming back to the mcc. Yes. All right, folks, we're going to wrap up right here. And in the next episode dealing with the topic, we're going to pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.