House Democrats released a new batch of what they called “disturbing” photos from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, showing among others Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The 19 photos in the initial drop — some of which have been seen before — plus 70 more posted later Friday afternoon, represent a small number of the nearly 100,000 photos released to the House Oversight Committee, which is looking into the behavior and relationships of Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by apparent suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking crimes.
Notable figures appearing in the first edition include celebrities including the film’s director, Woody Allen; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; and Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire.
In Friday’s second installment are photos showing construction work on the exterior of Epstein’s island home. The batch also includes more photographs of the yellow dentist’s office that appeared in a similar release of photos and videos released by the commission on December 3, as well as a bathroom, a “Trumpkin pumpkin” (a pumpkin decorated in the likeness of Donald Trump), and Epstein in a bathtub.
Three of the photos show former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon — two with Epstein, and one with Allen in a social setting.
The photos were released without context or commentary, but according to Robert Garcia, a California Democrat and ranking member of the Oversight Committee, they raise more questions about Epstein’s ties to wealthy individuals.
“It is time to end the White House cover-up and bring justice to Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors and his powerful friends,” he said in a statement.
“These disturbing photos raise more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth.”
The White House responded to the release of the photos in a statement accusing Democrats of “selectively selecting” the photos for political purposes and “trying to create a false narrative.”
“The Democrats’ bluff against President Trump has been exposed time and time again,” White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said, insisting that “the Trump administration has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever did by repeatedly calling for transparency, releasing thousands of pages of documents, and calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democratic friends.”
The House and Senate last month passed a bill to release all files held by the government related to Epstein, despite strong opposition from Trump. The Ministry of Justice has until December 19 to comply. It is expected that hundreds of thousands of documents will be published. A federal judge also ruled Tuesday that the department can publicly release investigative materials from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein confidant, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence on the charges.
Trump appears in three of the 19 photos first released on Friday. In one, he is photographed with six women, some wearing Hawaiian clothing, their faces darkened. In the second, he is seen alongside Epstein listening to a blond-haired woman who appears to be sharing a joke. In the third photo, which appears to have been taken on a plane, he is sitting next to another woman with longer blonde hair, whose face is also shadowed.
The president’s cartoon face and the phrase “I’m awesome” appear in another image on square packages with a sign advertising “Trump Condoms” for $4.50. The items were new For sale Before Trump’s first election victory in 2016, she earned a place at the Smithsonian Institution A collection of political satire.
Trump was a close friend of Epstein for 15 years, and described him as a “terrific guy,” before insisting he had fallen out with him and firing him as a member of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Meanwhile, a new photo shows former Prince Andrew wearing a business suit alongside Gates. It was cropped from the photo published on Friday of King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, who was in the original photo taken by news agencies at a business summit in London in 2018. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal status and titles in October over his dealings with Epstein.
Epstein does not appear in the original or cut versions, and there is no explanation as to why the photo was part of Epstein’s estate.
Clinton’s photo, which appears to have been signed by the former president, shows him standing next to Epstein and Maxwell, who was partly convicted of trafficking teenage girls for Epstein and his associates to abuse.
A collection of sex toys, including restraints and a catalog and guide to the Japanese art of shibari (a form of bondage), appear in three others. Epstein was accused of hosting sex parties for clients at his home in New York, Florida, and at his private resort on the Caribbean island of Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz appear in two other photos, the latter in a photo published by news agencies from 2004.
The photo of British billionaire Branson on the beach with Epstein also shows Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, according to the Boston Globe, which said Kamen did not respond to a request for comment.
There was no immediate response to the investigation submitted to Branson’s office. NBC News The agency said no immediate response was reported from any of the unidentified individuals in the photos, and all of them denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement, Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee promised to release more photos in the coming days from the payment it had just received from Epstein’s estate.
“This latest production contains more than 95,000 images, including images of wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein,” she added.
“The images also include thousands of photographs of women and Epstein’s property. Committee Democrats are reviewing the full set of photos and will continue to release the photos to the public in the coming days and weeks. Committee Democrats are committed to protecting the identities of survivors.”
A statement from the committee’s Republican majority reiterated accusations in the White House statement of “cherry-picking” and selective censorship of images.
“The Democrats’ bluff against President Trump has been completely exposed. Nothing in the documents we received shows any wrongdoing. Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Democratic watchdogs should be ashamed of this disgusting behavior of putting politics above justice for survivors,” she said.
Friday’s release is the latest in a number of recent similar events. Last week, several still photos and videos of Epstein’s island in the Caribbean Sea were posted, including bedrooms, a living room, what appeared to be a dentist’s office, an office or library, and a blackboard on which several unexplained words had been written, such as “flipper,” “intellectual,” “deception,” and “power.”
New York Times I mentioned Epstein’s last girlfriend was a dentist and shared an office with one of his shell companies.