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 release comes hours before the December 19 deadline for the Department of Justice to unveil 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 Robert Garcia, ranking member of the committee.
What's in the images released
Some of the photos show Epstein speaking with professor and activist Noam Chomsky aboard a private plane; Bill Gates standing beside a redacted figure; Steve Bannon sitting at a desk across from Epstein, and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner event.
These latest photos again highlight connections between Epstein and various powerful individuals, following previous images featuring President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Notably, appearing in these images does not imply involvement in wrongdoing for the depicted individuals, many of whom have consistently denied association with Epstein's illegal activities.
In a statement accompanying the photo release, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee noted that the Epstein estate did not provide context or timing for the images. “Photos were selected to provide the public with transparency into a representative sample of the photos received from the estate, and to provide insights into Epstein's network and his extremely disturbing activities,” the release explained.
Among the released photos, several depict quotes from Nabokov's 'Lolita' inscribed in black ink across various parts of a woman's body, including her chest and foot. One notable quote states, Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Some are further accompanied by female passports and identification documentation from different countries, although names and personal details are largely redacted.
In another image, Epstein is shown at a desk surrounded by three female figures, with visible interactions suggesting an inappropriate context. Additionally, there is evidence of communications indicating offers regarding “girls” and financial transactions.
Photo release comes ahead of DOJ deadline
The committee has amassed thousands of images from Epstein's estate, which they describe as both graphic and mundane.
In August, the House Oversight Committee first subpoenaed Epstein's estate, following his death in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations. The current photo releases are distinct from the so-called "Epstein files" held by the Department of Justice, which have to be disclosed by December 19 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, recently signed into law.
The public awaits clarity on what the DOJ’s files might entail—a significant amount of which is expected to be redacted, similar to the materials released by the House Oversight Committee.
