Congressional Democrats Unveil Most Recent Set of Epstein Photos as Justice Department Cut-off Date Nears

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The Congressional oversight panel has published a batch of approximately 70 images from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the third publication from a larger collection of in excess of 95,000 images the body has secured from Epstein's property. It contains pictures of passages from the literary work Lolita scrawled across a woman's body, and obscured photos of women's overseas passports.

This release arrives just hours before the 19 December deadline for the DOJ to disclose each files associated with its inquiry into Epstein.

"These images pose additional queries about precisely what the DOJ has in its custody," remarked the Democratic lead of the panel, Robert Garcia.

Contents in the Photos Disclosed

Several of the photos published on recently feature Epstein conversing with professor and activist Noam Chomsky on a personal aircraft; Bill Gates standing alongside a female whose face is obscured; Steve Bannon positioned at a table facing Epstein, and ex- Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner event.

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These are the latest high-net-worth, influential figures to be pictured in Epstein property images released by the oversight panel - earlier released images also include US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as director Woody Allen, previous US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and other figures.

Being pictured in the photographs is is not considered indication of any misconduct, and several of the photographed figures have said they were never participating in Epstein's illegal activity.

In a statement issued alongside the image release, Lawmakers on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein property holders did not offer explanatory details or timings for the pictures.

"Images were selected to offer the general populace with openness into a representative sample of the photos acquired from the holdings, and to provide perspectives into Epstein's circle and his profoundly disturbing actions," the statement says.

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The release also features multiple images of passages from the Vladimir Nabokov literary work Lolita written in ink across various areas of a woman's body, such as her torso, feet, hip, and back. Lolita recounts the story of a minor who was manipulated by a middle-aged literature professor.

A particular passage from the novel written across a woman's torso states, "Lolita: 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 women's passports and ID papers from states worldwide, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

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A large portion of the details on the documents, including names and DOBs, is censored but the panel stated in a press release that the travel documents are associated with "women whom Jeffrey Epstein and his conspirators were interacting with".

Another photograph features Epstein seated at a workstation closely in the company of three women whose identities have been censored - a first has her hand on Epstein's upper body under his shirt, and a second is bending to examine a close-by computer. Epstein seems to be assisting the third individual fasten a wristband.

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Another photo made public is a capture of SMS messages from an unnamed individual who states they have been supplied "a number of girls" and are asking for "$one thousand dollars for each individual".

Photo Release Occurs Before DOJ Due Date

The panel has many thousands of photographs in its custody from the Epstein estate, which are "simultaneously disturbing and mundane," its announcement on recently noted.

The House Oversight Committee first issued a subpoena to the property of Epstein, who passed away in a New York jail in 2019 while pending legal proceedings on accusations of human trafficking, in August.

The images and records the Epstein property gave to the body are different than what is commonly termed "the Epstein files". Those files are records under the Department of Justice's control associated with its independent inquiry into Epstein.

In accordance with the Transparency Act, which President Trump made law last month, the DOJ has a deadline of 19 December to disclose its records. The extent of what's contained in the DOJ's files is unknown, and it's expected that much of the material will be extensively obscured, akin to Congressional documents

Andrew Moore
Andrew Moore

A financial journalist with over a decade of experience covering global markets and economic policy.