Democratic members of the US House Oversight Committee on Friday released 19 photographs obtained from the estate of late financier and accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In these pictures, many influential and well-known personalities including the President of America Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and former Prince Andrew of Britain are seen.
The photos released by Democratic lawmakers are a tiny fraction of the more than 95,000 photos seized from Epstein’s estate. After these photos came out, once again, the stir in political circles regarding the relationship and possible revelations related to Epstein has intensified.
Donald Trump
and Jeffrey Epstein knew each other for a while. However, President Trump has consistently claimed that his relationship with Epstein ended around 2004. Trump has also repeatedly said that he had no role in any criminal or wrongdoing involving Epstein. The released photos also include a black and white photo of Trump, in which the faces of the six women around him have been blurred. All these photos are published without any caption or context.
Epstein died in prison in 2019
Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on serious sex-trafficking charges. After his death, the case became even more mysterious and controversial. In addition to the 19 photos on Friday, Democratic lawmakers released nearly 70 more photos later. These include photos of Epstein’s home, a photo of him taking a shower and a photo of him posing with a book about the scandal.
The photos are separate from the case files that the US Department of Justice is now being forced to release as pressure mounts on the Justice Department . The Trump administration faces a deadline next week to turn over files related to Epstein. These files have been the focus of conspiracy theories and speculation for years.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, clarified that none of the women in the photos have been confirmed victims. He said that since the beginning of the committee, it has been a commitment that any such material will be removed, which may harm any victim.
In response to the White House,
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused the Democrats of trying to create a false narrative against President Trump by releasing arbitrarily selected photos. He called it part of the Democratic conspiracy against Trump. Jackson also said that many of these photos have already been made public.
Despite this, Democratic lawmakers have indicated that they may release more photos in the coming days and weeks to pressure the Trump administration into releasing documents related to the Epstein investigation.
How many photos have been examined so far
According to Robert Garcia, his staff has examined about one-quarter of the photos found in Epstein’s estate. These include photos that were sent directly to them or that they already had. Garcia said that Donald Trump should release all the files in the interest of the American people, so that the truth can be revealed and some degree of justice for the victims.
Positions on Clinton and other celebrities
Former President Bill Clinton has also described his relationship with Epstein as limited. He has acknowledged that he traveled on Epstein’s private jet, but said through a spokesman that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Importantly, none of Epstein’s known victims have accused Bill Clinton of abuse.
However, Republican members of the House of Representatives committee are pressuring Clinton and Hillary Clinton to testify in the investigation. A spokesman for the Republican-controlled committee also said that documents obtained by the committee did not show any evidence of wrongdoing by Donald Trump.
Other famous names also appeared
in the released photos, including political strategist Steve Bannon, billionaire industrialist Richard Branson, Bill Gates, filmmaker Woody Allen, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and law professor Alan Dershowitz. All of these individuals have denied any illegal or immoral activity in their relationship with Epstein.
Larry Summers had to resign from his position at Harvard University after the Epstein-related emails were leaked, causing serious damage to his academic reputation. At the same time, Woody Allen has been accused by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow of sexual abuse in childhood, although Allen has denied these allegations.
The demand to bring out the complete files
Some lawmakers believe that if the complete files of the Epstein case are made public by the Department of Justice, many other influential people can also be involved in this case. Rep. Thomas Massey, Republican of Kentucky, who was instrumental in introducing the bill to make the files public, said it was a positive sign that the Justice Department is trying to release grand jury materials from multiple courts.
Massey also said that the material related to the grand jury is only a small part of the total evidence. The FBI and Justice Department likely have evidence that was not presented to the grand jury because it could implicate people other than Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.