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Oversight Panel

The House Oversight Committee has released a batch of around 70 photographs secured from the holdings of late found guilty sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

This constitutes the third such disclosure from a larger collection of in excess of 95,000 photos the committee has obtained from Epstein's holdings. It includes images of quotes from the novel Lolita written across a woman's body, and obscured images of women's foreign passports.

This action arrives just hours before the 19 December cut-off for the Justice Department to make public every files related to its investigation into Epstein.

"These photographs raise further queries about exactly what the Department of Justice has in its possession," said the Democratic lead of the committee, Robert Garcia.

What's in the Images Released

Some of the photographs released on Thursday feature Epstein conversing with scholar and advocate Noam Chomsky aboard a personal aircraft; Bill Gates positioned alongside a individual whose face is redacted; Steve Bannon positioned at a desk across from Epstein, and previous Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a dinner event.

Committee

These are the newest affluent, powerful individuals to be seen in Epstein property photographs released by the oversight panel - earlier published pictures also depict US President Donald Trump and past president Bill Clinton, as well as movie director Woody Allen, previous US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and additional individuals.

Showing up in the images is is not considered evidence of any wrongdoing, and many of the pictured individuals have asserted they were in no way involved in Epstein's illegal activity.

In a press release issued alongside the photo release, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee noted the Epstein estate did not offer context or timings for the pictures.

"Photos were selected to provide the public with transparency into a illustrative selection of the images received from the property, and to offer understanding into Epstein's associates and his profoundly alarming activities," the release reads.

Committee

The publication also includes multiple images of quotes from the Vladimir Nabokov literary work Lolita written in ink across various areas of a female's body, like her chest, foot, pelvis, and spine. Lolita tells the story of a minor who was exploited by a adult literature professor.

One excerpt from the book inscribed across a woman's upper body says, "Lo-lee-ta: the end of the tongue traveling of three steps down the mouth to land, at three, on the teeth".

There are also a number of photos of female travel documents and official papers from countries around the world, such as Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Investigative Body

Most of the information on the IDs, including names and DOBs, is redacted but the House Oversight Committee indicated in a press release that the passports are associated with "women whom Jeffrey Epstein and his conspirators were interacting with".

An additional photograph depicts Epstein seated at a table in close proximity in the company of three individuals whose features have been obscured - one individual has her palm on Epstein's torso under his clothing, and another individual is crouching to view a close-by device. Epstein seems to be aiding the final person attach a bracelet.

Oversight Panel

A further photo released is a image of text messages from an unnamed individual who claims they have been provided "several females" and are demanding "$$1,000 for each individual".

Photograph Release Comes Prior to DOJ Due Date

The committee has thousands of images in its custody from the Epstein holdings, which are "simultaneously disturbing and ordinary," its announcement on Thursday explained.

The Congressional committee first subpoenaed the holdings of Epstein, who passed away in a New York correctional facility in 2019 while facing trial on charges of sex trafficking, in August.

The images and documents the Epstein estate gave to the panel are distinct from what is largely termed "Epstein-related records". Those are documents in the justice department's control related to its independent inquiry into Epstein.

In accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which the President enacted last month, the DOJ has until 19 December to release its documents. The full nature of the contents found in the DOJ's records is unknown, and it's expected that much of the information will be extensively redacted, similar to Congressional materials