Congressional Democrats Disclose Latest Set of Epstein Photos as Justice Department Cut-off Date Approaches

Investigative Body

The Congressional oversight panel has published a batch of around 70 photographs secured from the holdings of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the third release from a tranche of more than 95,000 images the committee has acquired from Epstein's property. It includes photographs of quotes from the literary work Lolita written across a female's body, and censored photos of women's foreign passports.

This action arrives just hours before the December 19th cut-off for the DOJ to disclose all files connected to its inquiry into Epstein.

"These new photos bring up further questions about what exactly the DOJ has in its possession," said the ranking member of the committee, Robert Garcia.

What is in the Photos Made Public

A number of the images released on Thursday feature Epstein speaking with professor and activist Noam Chomsky aboard a personal aircraft; Bill Gates standing next to a individual whose face is censored; Steve Bannon seated at a table facing Epstein, and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a evening meal.

Investigative Body

These are the latest wealthy, influential individuals to be seen in Epstein property photographs disclosed by the oversight panel - earlier published photos also include US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as movie director Woody Allen, former US treasury secretary Larry Summers, counsel Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and others.

Appearing in the images is is not considered evidence of any wrongdoing, and a number of the pictured men have said they were in no way involved in Epstein's unlawful actions.

In a announcement accompanying the photo disclosure, Lawmakers on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein estate did not offer explanatory details or dates for the photographs.

"Images were picked to provide the general populace with openness into a illustrative selection of the photographs acquired from the estate, and to offer understanding into Epstein's circle and his profoundly troubling activities," the release reads.

Committee

The release also features several photos of quotes from the Vladimir Nabokov literary work Lolita penned in black ink across various areas of a female's body, such as her chest, feet, hip, and spine. Lolita tells the account of a adolescent who was manipulated by a older literature professor.

A particular excerpt from the novel written across a female's chest says, "Lolita's name: the tip of the tongue making a journey of three steps down the mouth to alight, at three, on the teeth".

There are also a collection of photos of female travel documents and ID papers from states around the world, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Committee

The majority of the details on the IDs, such as names and birth dates, is obscured but the committee indicated in a statement that the passports belong to "individuals whom Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators were engaging".

Another photo shows Epstein sitting at a table closely surrounded by three women whose identities have been obscured - one individual has her palm on Epstein's chest under his garment, and another is leaning to look at a adjacent device. Epstein can be seen to be helping the third fasten a bracelet.

Oversight Panel

A further photograph disclosed is a screenshot of digital messages from an unnamed sender who states they have been sent "a number of girls" and are asking for "$1000 per girl".

Photo Disclosure Occurs Prior to DOJ Due Date

The body has a vast number of photos in its holdings from the Epstein property, which are "both explicit and everyday," its press release on this week explained.

The oversight panel first legally compelled the property of Epstein, who was found dead in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on accusations of sex trafficking crimes, in August.

The photographs and documents the Epstein estate submitted to the panel are separate from what is often termed "the Epstein files". Those files are records in the justice department's control associated with its own probe into Epstein.

Under the recently passed law, which President Trump signed into law recently, the DOJ has until 19 December to disclose its documents. The scope of the contents contained in the DOJ's documents is unclear, and it's expected that a large amount of the content will be extensively obscured, similar to House Oversight Committee releases