Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a new tranche of photos Thursday from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, ahead of the broader release of the Epstein files that’s slated to take place by the end of the day Friday.
Key Takeaways
- House Democrats released 68 photos from the Epstein estate, which were turned over to the committee as part of its broader investigation into Epstein and his alleged abuse.
- The photos, which are all undated, show Epstein in a variety of settings, along with images of passports, visas, architectural blueprints, a prescription bottle of the medication Phenazopyridine and images of anonymous women with quotes from Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” written on them.
- Many also feature high-profile associates who were known to associate with the financier, with photos of billionaire Bill Gates, filmmaker Woody Allen, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, philosopher Noam Chomsky and Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
- Others pictured in the photos include New York Times columnist David Brooks, who recently wrote a column decrying the public’s fixation on the Epstein files, and the Times said in a statement Thursday the photos were from a 2011 dinner that Brooks attended “to inform his columns” and the writer “had no contact with [Epstein] before or after this single attendance at a widely-attended dinner.”
- Some of the photos show figures, including Gates, standing alongside anonymous women, but none depict any wrongdoing by Epstein’s well-known friends.
- The tranche also includes a screenshot of text messages from an unknown recipient, who said they “will send u girls now” and asked if “maybe someone will be good for J?”, also saying a friend is asking for “1000$ per girl” and sending along details of an 18-year-old from Russia.
What To Watch For
The photos come ahead of the government’s broader Epstein files being released this week, as the Trump administration is required under federal law to make its files on Epstein public by Friday. Those files are expected to shed additional light on the government’s investigations into Epstein and could include many of the financier’s high-profile friends, though many of Epstein’s known associates have never been accused of any wrongdoing. The House Oversight Committee is also expected to continue releasing Epstein-related files as part of its investigation, including more photos and documents received from financial institutions that worked with Epstein.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
