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Committee

The Congressional oversight panel has published a set of around 70 images obtained from the property of deceased adjudicated individual convicted of sex crimes Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the latest in a series of disclosure from a tranche of in excess of 95,000 photographs the panel has acquired from Epstein's holdings. It contains pictures of passages from the book Lolita inscribed across a woman's body, and obscured photos of women's international passports.

This disclosure arrives just hours before the 19 December cut-off for the Justice Department to make public every files connected to its inquiry into Epstein.

"These images raise further inquiries about exactly what the DOJ has in its possession," stated the ranking member of the committee, Robert Garcia.

Contents in the Images Released

Some of the photographs published on this week depict Epstein conversing with scholar and advocate Noam Chomsky on a private plane; Bill Gates standing next to a female whose identity is censored; Steve Bannon seated at a workstation across from Epstein, and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner gathering.

Investigative Body

These are the newest affluent, powerful individuals to be pictured in Epstein's estate photos disclosed by the oversight panel - previously released photos also depict US President Donald Trump and ex-president Bill Clinton, as well as film director Woody Allen, former US treasury secretary Larry Summers, counsel Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and additional individuals.

Showing up in the images is not proof of any illegal activity, and many of the featured men have asserted they were not participating in Epstein's criminal activity.

In a press release issued alongside the photograph release, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein property holders did not provide context or dates for the pictures.

"Images were selected to provide the American people with openness into a typical cross-section of the photographs acquired from the property, and to provide insights into Epstein's associates and his exceptionally disturbing actions," the release reads.

Investigative Body

The disclosure also features several photographs of excerpts from the Vladimir Nabokov book Lolita penned in dark ink across various areas of a female's body, like her torso, foot, pelvis, and back. Lolita tells the tale of a minor who was exploited by a adult literature professor.

A particular passage from the novel scrawled across a woman's upper body says, "Lolita: the point 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 images of female travel documents and identification documents from states around the world, including Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Committee

The majority of the data on the documents, including names and dates of birth, is censored but the panel indicated in a press release that the travel documents belong to "females whom Jeffrey Epstein and his conspirators were engaging".

Another photo features Epstein seated at a desk in close proximity flanked by three individuals whose faces have been obscured - one has her hand on Epstein's chest under his clothing, and a second is leaning to look at a nearby device. Epstein appears to be aiding the third individual fasten a bracelet.

Committee

Another photograph disclosed is a capture of SMS messages from an unidentified sender who says they have been provided "several females" and are requesting "$$1,000 per girl".

Image Release Arrives Before DOJ Deadline

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

The Congressional committee first issued a subpoena to the holdings of Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while facing trial on allegations of sex trafficking, in August.

The photos and files the Epstein estate's representatives gave to the panel are distinct from what is commonly termed "the Epstein documents". That material are papers within the Department of Justice's control associated with its own investigation into Epstein.

Under the recently passed law, which President Trump made law recently, the DOJ has until the date of 19 December to publish its files. The full nature of what's contained in the DOJ's files is not publicly known, and it's expected that a significant portion of the information will be heavily censored, similar to the committee's documents