US District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, ordered the release of the note on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, after a request from The New York Times. The note was claimed to have been found by Nicholas Tartaglione, Epstein's former cellmate, after Epstein was found on the floor of their cell at a Manhattan federal jail on July 23, 2019, with a strip of bedsheet around his neck.

The note reads: 'They investigated me for month — found nothing!!!' and 'It is a treat to be able to choose' the 'time to say goodbye'. The note's authenticity and authorship are unclear, and it was not mentioned in government reports examining the circumstances of Epstein's death.

Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019, in what authorities concluded was a suicide. Authorities have pointed to a series of missteps by jail personnel for allowing him to take his own life.

The release of the note comes as part of an unrelated legal dispute involving Tartaglione, who is serving a life sentence for killing four people. The court will review the case and the note's relevance to the investigation into Epstein's death in the coming weeks.