Epstein jail guard to testify in House investigation

A correctional officer who was on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York federal jail is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee, according to a statement from committee chairman Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky.

Comer said former guard Tova Noel will appear for a transcribed interview on March 26 as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein and the circumstances surrounding his death in federal custody in 2019. In a letter to Noel, Comer wrote that the committee believes she has information that could assist lawmakers reviewing newly released documents and prior reporting on the case.

Noel and another correctional officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York were previously accused by prosecutors of failing to monitor Epstein the night he died. Authorities said the guards slept and browsed the internet instead of conducting required security checks and later falsified records to suggest those checks had been completed.

The New York City medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide. Under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the guards avoided prison time after agreeing to certain conditions in the case.