New Delhi, May 7 -- A federal judge in New York has released a document purported to be a suicide note written by Jeffrey Epstein, offering the public its first look at text that has remained sealed within court records since 2019. The note, which does not bear a signature, was unsealed on Wednesday by Judge Kenneth Karas of Federal District Court in White Plains, New York, who presided over the criminal case of Epstein's former cellmate.

The note opens with a defiant declaration about a prior investigation. "They investigated me for months - FOUND NOTHING!!!" it begins, before referencing charges described as reaching back many years.

It then shifts in register. "It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye," the note c...