An internal DOJ email from September 10, 2019, showing the New York Times formally joining a request to unseal court records in the Nicholas Tartaglione case—the former police officer who was Jeffrey Epstein's cellmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

This document is an email chain between federal prosecutors and the New York Times legal department regarding media access to sealed records in US v. Tartaglione. The Times, represented by attorney Al-Amyn Sumar and reporter Ben Weiser, submitted a formal letter requesting the court unseal certain records. This request came exactly one month after Epstein's death on August 10, 2019, and during a period of intense public scrutiny over what happened at MCC. Tartaglione was Epstein's cellmate during the July 23, 2019 incident when Epstein was found semiconscious with injuries to his neck.

Key Highlights

• •The New York Times formally joined a legal request to unseal records in the Tartaglione case on September 10, 2019
• •Nicholas Tartaglione was Epstein's cellmate and was questioned about the July 2019 neck injury incident
• •Ben Weiser, a veteran NYT reporter covering Manhattan federal courts, was specifically named as pursuing this story
• •The email shows coordination between DOJ prosecutors and media legal teams on transparency requests

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