The release came as the Justice Department faces a Dec. 19 deadline to release its files on the Epstein investigation, under a law Congress approved and Trump signed.
Ghislaine Maxwell files ordered to be released
A judge has ordered the release of case files related to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein after Congress approved to release more information.
WASHINGTON – House Democrats received another trove of 95,000 pictures from accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and released 19 photos that show Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and other high-profile figures.
The photo release is the latest push by Democrats to encourage the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein’s criminal investigation.
Congress has set a Dec. 19 deadline for the release, under legislation Trump first opposed and later signed. Three federal judges have allowed the release of grand jury transcripts and other evidence from investigations of Epstein and his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was unclear why Democrats on the House Oversight Committee chose to release these 19 photos, which included images of sex toys and, separately, snapshots of various VIPs whose past associations with Epstein were already widely known.
“All we want is full transparency,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York. “That’s what the Epstein survivors deserve and have demanded.”
One picture shows Trump, who had a long friendship with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, posing for a photo with women whose faces are blacked out. He is seen chatting or sitting next to women in various pictures. One portrays a sign for a “Trump condom.”
Other images show former President Bill Clinton below an autograph, director Woody Allen, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former prince of the United Kingdom. Allen is shown in one image talking to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters Dec. 12 that he expects the committee to release more photos in the next few days as committee staff continue looking through the images and make redactions to protect survivors.
“We’ve gone through maybe about 25,000 of them so far, he said. “We will continue to put out more photos in the days and weeks ahead.”
He said come of the photos staff have reviewed are disturbing, but did not provide details.
“Some of the other photos that we did not put out today are incredibly disturbing,” he said.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
