In brief
In a pressing move before the December 19 deadline for the Department of Justice, the House Oversight Committee released around 70 images associated with Jeffrey Epstein. This batch, the third release from a larger collection, includes provocative visuals and raises significant questions about the contents of the DOJ's investigation files. The images feature prominent figures and unsettling details, further complicating Epstein's legacy and the ongoing efforts towards transparency.
The House Oversight Committee has released a batch of around 70 photos from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It's the third such release from a tranche of over 95,000 photos the committee has acquired from Epstein's estate. It includes images of quotes from the book Lolita written across a woman's body, and redacted images of women's foreign passports.
This comes just hours before the December 19 deadline for the Department of Justice to release all files related to its investigation into Epstein.
These new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession, said ranking member of the committee, Robert Garcia.
What's in the images released
Some of the photos released 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.
Appearing in the photos is not evidence of any wrongdoing, and many of the pictured men have said they were never involved in Epstein's illegal activity.
The Epstein estate did not provide context or timing for the pictures. However, the House Oversight Committee indicated that the photos were selected to give the public insight into Epstein's network and activities.
Photo release comes ahead of DOJ deadline
The committee has thousands of images in its possession from the Epstein estate, which are '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 on allegations of sex trafficking, in August.
The photos and files the Epstein estate gave to the committee are separate from what is largely referred to as 'the Epstein files'. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Trump signed last month, the DOJ has until December 19 to release its files.
