Lawmakers Release Newest Set of Epstein Images as DOJ Deadline Nears

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The Congressional oversight panel has released a collection of around 70 photos obtained from the property of deceased adjudicated sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

This represents the third such release from a larger collection of over 95,000 photos the body has acquired from Epstein's holdings. It includes pictures of passages from the book Lolita inscribed across a woman's body, and redacted images of women's international passports.

This disclosure arrives mere hours before the December 19th cut-off for the Department of Justice to release all records associated with its probe into Epstein.

"These latest images raise further questions about what exactly the DOJ has in its holdings," remarked the ranking member of the panel, Robert Garcia.

What's in the Images Disclosed

Several of the images released on this week show Epstein in discussion with academic and activist Noam Chomsky aboard a private plane; Bill Gates seen beside a woman whose face is obscured; Steve Bannon positioned at a workstation opposite Epstein, and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner gathering.

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These are the newest wealthy, prominent men to be pictured in Epstein property images released by the oversight panel - formerly released photos also show US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as movie director Woody Allen, ex- US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, counsel Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and others.

Being pictured in the photos is does not constitute evidence of any illegal activity, and many of the featured individuals have stated they were not involved in Epstein's illegal activity.

In a announcement accompanying the photograph disclosure, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein estate did not provide background information or timings for the photographs.

"Photos were selected to offer the public with transparency into a representative sample of the photos acquired from the property, and to give understanding into Epstein's network and his profoundly troubling activities," the release reads.

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The disclosure also features a number of photos of passages from the Vladimir Nabokov literary work Lolita written in black ink across various areas of a woman's body, like her torso, feet, hipbone, and back. Lolita narrates the account of a young girl who was manipulated by a adult literature professor.

A particular excerpt from the work written across a female's torso states, "Lolita's name: the end of the tongue making a journey of three steps down the mouth to tap, at three, on the teeth".

There are also a series of photos of female identification and official papers from countries around the world, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

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Most of the details on the papers, including identities and DOBs, is censored but the panel indicated in a press release that the passports belong to "women whom Jeffrey Epstein and his conspirators were involved with".

An additional image features Epstein positioned at a desk intimately in the company of three women whose features have been redacted - one has her palm on Epstein's torso under his clothing, and another individual is crouching to look at a close-by laptop. Epstein can be seen to be helping the third attach a wristband.

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Another photograph disclosed is a image of SMS messages from an unnamed person who claims they have been supplied "several females" and are requesting "$$1,000 per girl".

Photo Disclosure Comes Ahead of DOJ Due Date

The panel has many thousands of images in its holdings from the Epstein property, which are "at once disturbing and ordinary," its statement on Thursday noted.

The oversight panel first legally compelled the holdings of Epstein, who was found dead in a New York jail in 2019 while pending legal proceedings on charges of human trafficking, in August.

The photos and documents the Epstein property provided to the panel are distinct from what is largely referred to "Epstein-related records". That material are papers in the DOJ's possession associated with its separate investigation into Epstein.

Under the recently passed law, which Donald Trump made law in November, the DOJ has until the date of 19 December to publish its records. The scope of what's contained in the DOJ's documents is unknown, and it's likely that a large amount of the information will be heavily obscured, similar to House Oversight Committee releases

Terry Jones
Terry Jones

A tech journalist with a decade of experience covering consumer electronics and digital innovation.