← The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Chronicles
Tova Noel And The Transcript From Her Congressional Testimony (Part 1) (6/18/26)
00:16:48
Tova Noel, one of the two correctional officers assigned to the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s Special Housing Unit on the night Jeffrey Epstein died, told the House Oversight Committee that she failed to conduct the required inmate checks and...
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What's up, everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. Now that we finished up with the Sarah Kellen transcript from her visit to Congress, we're going to begin diving in to Tova Noel's, who of course was one of the guards that was tasked with watching Jeffrey Epstein on the night that he died. And the person asking the questions this time around is Ms. Fairabend. This is a transcribed interview of Tova Noel conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform granted to it pursuant to House Rule X. Accordingly, House Rule X grants the Committee broad jurisdiction for the Committee to conduct investigations of any matter at any time. This interview was requested by Chairman James Comer as part of the Committee's investigation into the circumstances and subsequent investigations into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the operation of sex trafficking rings and ways for the federal government to effectively combat them, the ways in which Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell sought to curry favor and exercise influence to protect their illegal activities and potential violations of ethics Rules related to elected officials. Can the witness please state her name and spell her last name for the record? Ms. Noel. Tova Noel. N, O E, L. Ms. Ferra Bend. I want to thank Ms. Noel for appearing here voluntarily today. My name is Emily Feyerbend and I'm counsel for Chairman James Comer. Under the Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms rules, you're allowed to have counsel present to advise you during this interview. Do you have council representing you in a personal capacity present with you today, Ms. Noel? Yes. Question. Will council please identify themselves for the record? Mr. Foy. Jason Foy. Mr. Brioche. Rudy Brioche. Ms. Fiera Bend. Thank you. And for the record, starting with the majority staff, can the additional staff members please introduce themselves with their name to title and affiliation? Billy Grant, Deputy Chief Counsel for Investigations. Chairman Comer. Jack Emmer, Chief Counsel for Investigations for chairman comer. Mr. Ashworth, general counsel for Chairman Comer. Ryan Giachetti, Chief Counsel for Chairman Comer. Will Harness, professional staff member for Chairman Comer. Hannah Cathay, professional staff member, Council Chairman Comer. Ellison Tolan, Council Chairman Comer. Brittany Brignac, senior Counsel for Chairman Comer. Ashley Vineyard, Deputy Staff director for chairman comer. Mr. Spector. Peter Spector, Director of Oversight for Chairman Comer. Mallory Coger, Director of Operations and Chief Clerk for Chairman Comer. The next group of names all redacted, so we're just going to skip them. Ms. Fiera Bend. Thank you all. And I also see that we have a member that just joined us. Would he please identify himself? Mr. Walkinshaw. Good morning. I am James Walkinshaw from Virginia's 11th district. Question. Thank you, Ms. Noel. Before we begin, I'd like to go over the ground rules for this transcribed interview. The questioning will proceed in rounds. The majority will ask questions for up to an hour, and then the minority will have the opportunity to ask questions for up to an hour if they choose. To the extent the members have questions for the witness, they will be propounded during the side's respective rounds. The clock will stop if you need to confer with counsel. Your counsel is speaking. And when members of staff are speaking during the opposing side's round of questions, we'll alternate back and forth until there are no more questions. Do you understand, Miss Noel? Yes, ma'. Am. There is a court reporter taking down everything I say and everything you say to make a written record of the interview for the record. To be clear, please wait until the staffer questioning you finishes each question before you begin your answer. And the staffer will wait until you finish your response before proceeding to the next question. Further, to ensure the court reporter can properly record this interview, please speak clearly, concisely, and slowly. Also, the court reporter cannot record nonverbal answers such as nodding or shaking your head. So it's important that you answer each question with an audible verbal answer. The exhibits may be entered into the record. Majority exhibits will be identified numerically. Minority exhibits will be identified alphabetically. Do you understand, miss Noel? Yes, ma'. Am. Question. We want you to answer our questions in the most complete and truthful manner possible, so we'll take our time. If you have any questions or do not fully understand question, please let us know. We will attempt to clarify, add context to, or rephrase our questions. If we ask about specific conversations or events in the past and you're unable to recall the exact words or details, you should testify to the substance of those conversations with or events to the best of your recollection. If you recall only a part of a conversation or event, you should give us your best recollection of those events or parts of conversations that you recall. Do you understand? Miss Nova? Yes, ma'. Am. Question. Although you're here voluntarily and you will not be sworn in, you are required by law pursuant to Title 18 of the US Code, Section 1001 title to answer questions from Congress truthfully. This also applies to questions posed by congressional staff in the interview. Do you understand, miss Noel? Yes, ma'. Am. Question. This includes both knowingly providing false testimony, but also stating that you do not recall or remember something when in fact you do. Do you understand? Furthermore, you cannot tell half truths or exclude information necessary to make your statements accurate. You're required to provide all information that would make your response truthful. A deliberate failure to disclose information can constitute a false statement. Do you understand, miss Noel? Yes, ma'. Am. Question. Is there any reason that you are unable to provide truthful testimony in today's interview? Noel? No, ma'. Am. Question. Please note that if you wish to assert privilege over any statement today, that assertion must comply with the Rules of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Pursuant to that Committee, Rule 16 states for the Chair to consider assertions of privilege over testimony or statements, witnesses or entities must clearly state the specific privilege being asserted and the reason for the assertion on or before the scheduled date of testimony or appearance. Do you understand, Ms. Noel? Yes, ma'. Am. Question. Ordinarily, we take five minute break at the end of each hour of questioning, but if you need a longer break or a break before that, please let us know and we'll be happy to accommodate. However, to the extent that there is a pending question we would ask you finish answering the question before we take the break. Do you understand? Ms. Noel yes ma'. Am. Do you have any other questions before we begin? Noel no ma'. Am. Question I understand you have an opening statement. Would you like to read that now? Noel yes, Good morning. My name is Tova NOEL and I'm 37 years old. I appear here today voluntarily in response to the request of the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about the circumstances and subsequent investigation of the death of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. Before I begin my opening statement, I would like to take a moment to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and that my decision to voluntarily appear before this committee, in part is influenced by my desire to provide clarity for the women harmed by Mr. Epstein and his co conspirators. I emigrated from Antigua to the United States when I was 12 years old. At 16, I graduated high school in Pennsylvania. When I turned 17, I attempted to enlist in the United States army but was unable to do so. I was a minor and my mother refused to consent to my enlistment. When I turned 19 years old, I enlisted and served in the Army National Guard for six years, receiving an honorable discharge in 2014. During my military service, I was deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom and stationed in Kuwait. While serving our country, I became a US citizen and in 2009, during my final year in the Army, I finished college level courses and earned an Associate of Applied Science in criminal justice. In 2014, I went back to school to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal justice from John Jay College in 2017. After I earned my Bachelor's degree, I briefly worked at the United States Postal Service until the opportunity to work as a Federal Correctional Officer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I decided to pursue the role because it was in the criminal justice field.
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is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. On June 24, 2018, I began working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I was assigned to the MCC in Manhattan around March 2019 during my first year as a Federal Correctional Officer, I I sustained an injury on the job. While on leave, I missed training classes that were required to be assigned to the shoe. These training courses were specifically related to the duties and responsibilities to work in the shoe. When I returned to work in June 2019, I was assigned to work in the shoe. Even though I never received the required specialized training. Prior to June 2019, I never worked in the shoe. When I was assigned to the shu, I was instructed to sign a document that indicated that I received the shoe training. When I advised my supervisor that I did not receive the training, I was told not to worry about it. I was instructed to sign so that the facility could pass its program review. When I was placed in the shoe, I was assigned to the 4pm to midnight shift. Most of the time due to understaffing issues, my colleagues and I were required to work overtime on a regular basis to avoid being mandated a work a second consecutive shift at midnight. I would often volunteer to work the 8am to 4pm shift and then work my regular shift from 4 to midnight. When Mr. Epstein was lodged at the MCC on or about July 6, 2019, I did not know who he was or anything about his past. I had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein because he spent most of each day downstairs in the Attorney conference room. I wasn't aware of the public's interest in Mr. Epstein until shortly after the July 23, 2019 incident when he was placed on suicide watch. I wasn't working the shift when the July 23 incident occurred. On August 9, 2019, I was scheduled to work my 4pm to midnight shift because I had a personal obligation that day. I could not work the 8am to 4pm shift. As a result, I was mandated to work the August 10, 2019 midnight to 8am shift. It was also my first time that I worked in the shoe with Officer Michael Thomas. It was my understanding that Officer Thomas was working the midnight shift in addition to working his assigned 8am to 4pm shift on August 9 and 10, 2019. Officer I acknowledged with full candor that I did not execute the counts and the rounds properly. I admit that there were tasks that I failed to complete which resulted in the improper execution and inaccurate documentation of the counts and the rounds. The failure to execute my duties and my responsibilities properly and the submission of inaccurate documentation were not related to Mr. Epstein or his death in any way. The inaccurate documentation were executed and at the beginning of each shift and were not done to cover up my conduct or the conduct of my colleague at the time I considered what I was doing as the MCC way. I use the term MCC way because it's a phrase I heard countless times from multiple colleagues while learning on the job prior to being assigned to the shu. There's only one problem with this opening statement. It doesn't match up with what we've heard from the other interviews with the oig. In other words, I was trained in a way that suggested that the policy guidance and operation protocol set forth in writing by the Federal Bureau of Prisons may be applied differently at mcc. My conduct regarding documentation and execution of the counts and rounds was based on what I observed experienced officers doing. Because I believe that video surveillance cameras inside MCC were working properly. I was not attempting to get away with something that I believed to be a crime. It was a surprise to me to learn months later that the video surveillance system was not working properly. Again, my failure to complete those duties were not because of Mr. Epstein. My inadequate job performance was due to my inexperience, inadequate training, and being overworked due to understaffing issues. The amount of overtime I was required to do resulted in my me earning my full base salary in approximately six months time on the job. As a result, my inadequate performance on the shoe on August 9th and 10th of 2019 was based on the dysfunctional culture at MCC, which was well documented in multiple reports issued by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. The same report that didn't say that he tried to commit suicide three times. That report got it. My responsibility was to conduct counts and rounds was improperly executed because of severe understaffing, a lack of adequate training, inadequate communication between management and frontline correctional officers, and other systemic failures. The systemic failures at the MCC were documented by the Office of Inspector General and multiple journalists long before the death of Mr. Epstein. The systemic failures were communicated to the Federal Bureau of Prisons leadership, by the Correctional Officers Union leadership long before Mr. Epstein's death. The only connection I have to the death of Mr. Epstein is that I happened to be mandated for overtime when he died. No, you were responsible for making sure that that didn't happen. And you see what they're doing here, right? Everybody's coming in with the same story. Let's blame the system so nobody is held responsible, and then we can all just get away with it. My life has drastically changed since August 10, 2019. Since that day, my life has been extremely difficult. This situation has been one of the hardest things I've experienced in my life. Well, if you didn't fall asleep for over Two years. My freedom was in jeopardy after the case against me was dismissed in 2021. With the unwavering support of my family, friends, co workers, my attorney, Jason Foy, and and God, I thought that I would be able to privately rebuild my life and my career. Instead, I have been consistently the subject of threats of my life, conspiracy theories and outrageous rumors impacting my mental and physical health. I have received threats from strangers. I have witnessed strangers pontificate about whether I'm a murderer or that I'll end up dead. I am consistently harassed at my residence, place of employment, in emails and on the phone. Every few weeks there's a new article based on a new theory with little to no factual basis. When Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency act, my personal identification information was released to the public without proper redaction of my date of birth and other personal information. Sorry. You're a government official. You were being paid by the American taxpayer. How can we hold anyone accountable if your name is redacted? And now I've been asked to come before you to speak for the first time publicly and answer your questions related to the investigation and death of Mr. Epstein. My goal today is to be honestly. My goal today is to honestly answer the committee's questions to the best of my recollection and finally put this behind me permanently. I would like to ask the world to allow me to heal and move on with my life. I'm not a criminal. I didn't conspire to cause Mr. Epstein's death. It's my desire to be left alone after all of today's interview. Thank you. All right, folks, we're gonna wrap up right here and in the next episode, we're gonna pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.
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