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Investigative Body

The Congressional oversight panel has published a set of around 70 photographs secured from the holdings of late convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the latest in a series of disclosure from a larger collection of in excess of 95,000 photos the committee has obtained from Epstein's holdings. It contains photographs of quotes from the novel Lolita written across a female's body, and censored pictures of women's foreign passports.

This action comes hours before the December 19th cut-off for the Justice Department to disclose each files related to its inquiry into Epstein.

"These photographs raise more queries about what exactly the Justice Department has in its possession," remarked the ranking member of the committee, Robert Garcia.

What's in the Photographs Released

Several of the images made public on recently feature Epstein speaking with professor and activist Noam Chomsky on a personal aircraft; Bill Gates positioned alongside a female whose features is redacted; Steve Bannon positioned at a workstation opposite Epstein, and ex- Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner event.

Oversight Panel

These are the most recent affluent, influential individuals to be pictured in Epstein property images released by the committee - previously released images also show US President Donald Trump and past president Bill Clinton, as well as director Woody Allen, former US treasury secretary Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and others.

Being pictured in the images is does not constitute evidence of any wrongdoing, and several of the photographed figures have said they were not involved in Epstein's unlawful actions.

In a statement accompanying the photo disclosure, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein estate did not provide background information or dates for the photographs.

"Photos were picked to furnish the general populace with clarity into a typical cross-section of the images obtained from the property, and to offer understanding into Epstein's circle and his extremely alarming actions," the release says.

Committee

The publication also contains several images of passages from the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita penned in black ink across various areas of a woman's body, like her upper body, lower extremity, hip, and rear. Lolita tells the tale of a young girl who was exploited by a adult literature professor.

An example of a passage from the novel inscribed across a woman's torso reads, "Lolita's name: the end of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth".

There are also a series of photographs of female passports and official papers from states around the world, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Investigative Body

A large portion of the data on the papers, like identities and dates of birth, is censored but the House Oversight Committee stated in a statement that the travel documents belong to "individuals whom Jeffrey Epstein and his associates were involved with".

An additional image features Epstein seated at a desk intimately surrounded by three individuals whose features have been obscured - one has her palm on Epstein's chest under his shirt, and another is crouching to look at a adjacent device. Epstein can be seen to be assisting the third individual attach a wristband.

Committee

A further photo released is a screenshot of digital messages from an unknown sender who claims they have been supplied "several females" and are asking for "$1000 per female".

Image Disclosure Occurs Prior to DOJ Cut-off

The body has many thousands of images in its holdings from the Epstein holdings, which are "at once graphic and mundane," its press release on recently explained.

The House Oversight Committee first legally compelled the holdings of Epstein, who was found dead in a New York prison in 2019 while facing trial on allegations of sex trafficking, in August.

The photographs and documents the Epstein property submitted to the panel are different than what is commonly termed "the Epstein files". Those are documents within the justice department's control connected to its own inquiry into Epstein.

Pursuant to the recently passed law, which Donald Trump enacted in November, the DOJ has until 19 December to release its documents. The full nature of what's found in the DOJ's records is not publicly known, and it's probable that much of the content will be extensively redacted, akin to House Oversight Committee materials