The House Oversight Committee has released a batch of around 70 photos from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
This marks the third such release from a tranche of over 95,000 photos the committee has gathered from Epstein's estate, which includes images of quotes from the book Lolita written across a woman's body, and redacted images of women's foreign passports.
It comes hours before the 19 December deadline for the Department of Justice to release all files related to its investigation into Epstein.
Ranking member of the committee, Robert Garcia, stated, These new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession.
What's in the Images Released
Some of the newly released photos show Epstein speaking with professor and activist Noam Chomsky aboard a private plane; Bill Gates standing beside a woman whose face is redacted; Steve Bannon sitting at a desk across from Epstein, and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner event. The BBC has attempted to contact each for comment.
These images include notable public figures, with previously released photos also showcasing US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as film director Woody Allen, attorney Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew, and others. However, appearing in these images does not imply any wrongdoing, as many of the individuals have claimed they were not involved in Epstein's illicit activities.
According to a statement from the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, the Epstein estate did not provide context or timings for the images. The committee's intent is to provide the public with transparency regarding Epstein's network and his troubling actions.
Included in the newly released images are several photos displaying quotes from Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita inscribed on different parts of a woman's body, emphasizing the book's controversial themes.
Photo Release Comes Ahead of DOJ Deadline
The committee possesses thousands of images from the Epstein estate, which have been described as both graphic and mundane. The House Oversight Committee first subpoenaed the estate of Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019, while awaiting trial for sex trafficking allegations.
The photos and files received from the Epstein estate are distinct from the Epstein files held by the Justice Department related to its investigation. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed into law by President Trump last month, the DOJ must release its files by December 19, although much of it may be heavily redacted, similar to the materials from the House Oversight Committee.
