Fact Check: Was JD Vance the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive?

WASHINGTON, DC: The controversy surrounding the Epstein files has heightened in recent weeks. The Department of Justice and the FBI recently concluded that Jeffrey Epstein did not have a client list that could implicate high-profile associates.

Following this, a rumor recently circulated online claiming that Vice President JD Vance was the last person to see Epstein alive. But is there any truth to this viral rumor? Let us find out below.

Claim: JD Vance was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive

In mid-July 2025, a rumor circulated online claiming that VP JD Vance was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive. 

The rumor circulated across social media platforms such as X, and Facebook.

An X user shared an article by borowitzreport.com and captioned the post, "Bombshell: JD Vance was Last Person to see Epstein Alive."

Similarly, a Facebook user also made a post stating, "WASHINGTON—A bombshell Dept. of Justice report leaked on Sunday reveals that Vice President JD Vance was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive. According to the report, Vance visited Epstein in his prison cell on August 10, 2019, shortly before the disgraced financier was found dead."

"The report indicates that Donald J Trump thanked Vance for visiting Epstein and promised to reward him someday, comparing him to 'the late, great Hannibal Lecter'," the post added.

False: The claim was made by a news satire site

Fact-checking outlet Snopes did an in-depth research on the rumor and found out that the claims made were false, as there was no credible evidence to back the claim.

Similarly, a Google search showed no evidence of any credible news outlets reporting on any such news, as it would have been widely covered if the rumor was true.

Moreover, the rumor originated with the The Borowitz Report, and according to its author, Andy Borowitz, it is "a news satire site published since 2001". The author also said in his bio, "I've been writing satirical news since I was eighteen." 

This rumor may have stemmed from earlier viral reports that said the US vice president met Pope Francis before his death.

Meanwhile, the fictional story went viral as President Donald Trump's Department of Justice and FBI declared that there was no long-rumored Epstein "client list" and reconfirmed Epstein's death as a suicide.

However, VP Vance's old social media posts alleging that Epstein's death may have been foul play also reemerged along with the news.

In September 2021, he made a post on X, "Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it."

Department of Justice and FBI say there is no Epstein client list

The Department of Justice and the FBI concluded that Jeffrey Epstein did not have a so-called client list that could show high-profile associates, and added that he did take his own life, contradicting long-held conspiracy theories about the infamous case.

Interestingly, while campaigning in 2024, President Trump promised to release files relating to the disgraced financier.

However, since taking office in January, Trump supporters have grown frustrated with the administration's handling of the case and for failing to deliver new revelations.

In 2019, Epstein died in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. This happened more than a decade after his conviction.

The two-page DoJ and FBI memo showed that investigators found no "incriminating list" of clients and "no credible evidence" that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

Moreover, investigators also released footage supporting the medical examiner's conclusion that Epstein died by suicide while being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.