Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer convicted in a 2016 quadruple murder case, claimed in a clemency petition that the Trump administration wanted Jeffrey Epstein dead. He argued that the administration put Epstein at risk while he was in jail in Manhattan in 2019, according to a report that discussed the petition and its claims.
Tartaglione briefly shared a cell with Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in July 2019. This happened after an incident left Epstein injured, leading to him being placed on suicide watch. Epstein later died on August 10, 2019, in a different housing unit after the Bureau of Prisons took him off suicide watch. Authorities stated that the medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
The new allegation became public after The Daily Beast reported that Tartaglione included it in a 21-page petition seeking a pardon or commutation. In the filing, he claimed jail officials left him and Epstein unprotected. He also asserted that government officials placed Epstein in danger because they did not want him to survive to go to trial.
Tartaglione is serving multiple life sentences after a federal jury convicted him in 2023 for the killings of four men in New York’s Hudson Valley. He gained national attention years earlier when he was identified as Epstein’s cellmate, following Epstein’s injury in late July 2019.
NEW🚨: Newly unsealed documents reveal that Jeffrey Epstein accused his cellmate of attempted murder after being found semi-conscious with neck injuries at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on July 23, 2019.
Epstein initially claimed his cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione—a… pic.twitter.com/vjFDgigznH
— Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) December 23, 2025
The Guardian reported that Epstein died weeks later, while Tartaglione was no longer his cellmate. This detail matters because Tartaglione argues that officials intentionally created unsafe conditions for Epstein, despite the fact that they did not share a cell at the time of Epstein’s death according to the reported timeline.
The Daily Beast noted that Tartaglione also claimed Epstein told him prosecutors tried to pressure him to implicate Trump. Epstein allegedly denied Trump’s involvement. Tartaglione has made this claim in other public statements linked to his clemency request. The New York Post previously reported a similar allegation from Tartaglione regarding conversations he had with Epstein while they were cellmates.
No court filings referenced in the reporting provided independent proof that Trump directed or requested harm to Epstein. The Daily Beast described Tartaglione’s claims as part of his clemency effort and mentioned that the Justice Department did not respond to questions about these assertions.
Public records show that Epstein faced federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death, which ended the criminal case before it could go to trial. His death has sparked years of speculation. The Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons have acknowledged significant failures at the jail, including missed checks and staffing issues, while maintaining the suicide ruling.
Tartaglione’s petition surfaced amid renewed focus on Epstein-related material as federal agencies release large amounts of records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This process has led to fresh scrutiny of older claims and tips submitted to law enforcement.
