Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have released selected photos from the estate of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It also includes photos of US President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and disgraced British royal family member Prince Andrew.
The dozens of photos initially released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee were just a few of the more than 95,000 photos received from the estate of Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The photos released Friday are separate from the case files that the Justice Department is currently being forced to release, but they raise expectations as the Trump administration faces a deadline next week to produce the Epstein files, which have long been a source of conspiracy theories and speculation.
The photo was released without a caption or context and included a black-and-white image of President Trump alongside six women whose faces were painted black.
The president said he had not seen the photos of Epstein’s estate released Friday, but said they were “no big deal.” President Trump said Epstein was “all over Palm Beach” and “taking pictures with everyone.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, would not say whether the woman in the photo was a victim of abuse, but added, “Our approach from day one has been to redact any photos or information that could cause any harm to the victim.”
White House press secretary Abigail Jackson accused Democrats of “selectively releasing hand-picked, randomly edited photos in an effort to create a false narrative,” calling it part of “Democrat disinformation against President Trump.”
Many of the photos are already in the public eye. Democrats have vowed to continue releasing the photos in the coming days and weeks, aiming to pressure Trump over the Republican administration’s earlier refusal to release documents related to the Epstein investigation.
Mr. Garcia said his staff had reviewed about a quarter of the images received from Mr. Epstein’s estate, including photos sent to him or in his possession.
“Donald Trump now needs to release the files to the American people so we can get the truth out and actually get a sense of justice for the survivors,” Garcia said.
He first released 19 photos on Friday morning, but later that day he released about 70 more photos, including one of Epstein taking a bath, one with a swollen lip, a photo of him at home, and one of him posing with a book about the scandal.
Trump, who was once a close friend of Epstein, said he broke up with Epstein long before he was indicted on sex trafficking charges.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton also downplayed his relationship with Epstein, admitting to flying on Epstein’s private jet but saying through a spokesperson that he had no knowledge of the late financier’s crimes.
Clinton has also never been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s known victims. But Republicans on House committees are calling on him and Hillary Clinton to testify in the investigation.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led committee also said the documents it received did not show “any wrongdoing” by Trump.
The photo release also included images of right-wing political operative Steve Bannon, billionaires Richard Branson and Bill Gates, film director Woody Allen, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and law professor Alan Dershowitz.
The men have denied any wrongdoing in their relationship with Mr. Epstein, who included many famous people in his circle of friends.
But some lawmakers believe that other powerful figures could also be implicated in Mr. Epstein’s abuses if the entire Justice Department case file is made public.
Additional sources of information • AP