The two Metropolitan Correctional Center staffers accused of falsifying records the night Jeffrey Epstein died are scapegoats of a broken system, according to their defense attorneys.

The comments came Monday as suspended corrections officers Tova Noel, 31, and Michael Thomas, 41, appeared briefly before Judge Analisa Torres.

“Based on our view of the case, I believe there are outside circumstances that are impacting this prosecution,” Noel’s attorney, Jason Foy, told Torres during a back-and-forth about setting a trial date.

Thomas’ attorney, Montell Figgins, agreed, telling the judge that systemic problems at the Bureau of Prisons were going to be part of the case.

“One of the issues here is going to be conditions, supervisions and the policies updated and advanced by the Bureau of Prisons,” Figgins said.

Asked outside court if Figgins thought his client had been scapegoated, he responded, “Absolutely.”

Noel and Thomas are accused of failing to check on the notorious pedophile every 30 minutes, as required, and allegedly fabricating documents claiming they had done so. Instead, court papers say, they dozed and surfed the web, while sitting in a common area just 15 feet from the creep’s cage.

The duo discovered Epstein hanging in his cell around 6:30 a.m. Aug. 10, and immediately confessed to not performing their checks, according to the indictment.

Attorney General William Barr on Friday characterized Epstein’s death as “a perfect storm of screw-ups.”

The correction officers initially appeared last Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, when they entered not guilty pleas and were released on $100,000 bond.

On Monday, Torres set a trial date for April 20 — and shot down yet another request from Foy that Noel be able to keep her personal firearm since the charged crime was non-violent.

Torres called the decision a “common-sense safety measure” and ruled that the gun would remain in the court’s possession.

Asked by reporters if Noel feared for her own safety, Foy nodded, citing “safety concerns from the press.”

Noel and Thomas declined to speak as they left the courthouse. They’re due back Jan. 30.