- US Democrats on oversight panel released Epstein estate images.
- Over a dozen new photos from late sex offender.
- Images include now-President Donald Trump at estate.
House Oversight Committee Democrats said they are examining over 95,000 photos taken by the estate, and three of the 19 images they supplied feature Trump.
Trump is seen grinning in a black-and-white picture with a number of women on either side of him whose faces have been obscured. In a second picture, Trump is seen standing next to Epstein; in a third, less visible picture, he is seated next to another woman, whose face is likewise obscured, while wearing a loose red tie.
The collection of photos also features sex toys, a $4.50 "Trump condom" with Trump's visage and the all-caps words "I'M HUUUGE!" and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former President Bill Clinton, and former Trump counselor Steve Bannon.
Democrats were politicizing the inquiry by "cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions to create a false narrative about President Trump," according to a representative for the committee, which is chaired by Republican James Comer of Kentucky.
"These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world,"
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said in a statement.
"We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW."
The tens of thousands of images, according to Democrats, include
"images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein"
and
"photographs of women and Epstein properties,"
and more will be made public in the days ahead.
To preserve the identity of Epstein's victims, the congressional Democrats claimed to have redacted the faces of the women.
Even though the US Department of Justice is anticipated to make declassified Epstein files from its federal probe public late next week, the committee is still obtaining and releasing papers.
An overwhelmingly bipartisan bill backed by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California was signed into law by Trump last month, requiring the Justice Department to make the Epstein files available within 30 days. That window will expire on December 19.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the White House.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Trump and Epstein were friends, although Trump claims that their friendship ended before Epstein entered a guilty plea to charges of prostitution.
Trump has continuously denied being aware of the late financier's mistreatment and trafficking of minors for sex.
What legal implications could arise from these photos being public?
The public release of Epstein prints by House Egalitarians carries minimum direct legal counteraccusations for depicted individualities like Trump, as they show social settings without substantiation of crime and were attained via court- approved estate exposure.
No feasible claims arise under US sequestration torts( e.g., false light or intrusion), since images are literal,non-intimate, and released under congressional oversight with faces redacted where needed; vilification suits would fail absent false statements tying prints to wrongdoing, defended by First Amendment newsworthiness.
Photos may fuel processes or grounds in ongoing civil suits( e.g., against Epstein estate or Maxwell), but add little evidentiary value beyond attesting known associations; no base for continuing civil examinations, as previous examinations cleared Trump of involvement.