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Oversight Panel

The House Oversight Committee has released a collection of approximately 70 photographs obtained from the property of deceased adjudicated sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the third such publication from a cache of in excess of 95,000 images the panel has obtained from Epstein's holdings. It includes photographs of excerpts from the literary work Lolita written across a woman's body, and obscured photos of women's international passports.

This disclosure comes hours before the 19 December due date for the Justice Department to make public all files connected to its investigation into Epstein.

"These latest photographs bring up more inquiries about precisely what the Justice Department has in its possession," remarked the Democratic lead of the panel, Robert Garcia.

Contents in the Photos Released

Several of the photographs published on this week depict Epstein in discussion with professor and activist Noam Chomsky on a private plane; Bill Gates standing next to a individual whose features is obscured; Steve Bannon sitting at a table opposite Epstein, and previous Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a evening meal.

Oversight Panel

These are the latest wealthy, powerful figures to be pictured in Epstein estate images disclosed by the oversight panel - previously published images also depict US President Donald Trump and ex-president Bill Clinton, as well as director Woody Allen, previous US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and others.

Appearing in the images is does not constitute indication of any misconduct, and many of the featured men have stated they were not participating in Epstein's criminal activity.

In a announcement issued alongside the photograph release, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee noted the Epstein estate did not offer explanatory details or timeframes for the pictures.

"Photos were selected to provide the general populace with openness into a typical cross-section of the images obtained from the property, and to provide insights into Epstein's associates and his profoundly disturbing behavior," the announcement reads.

Committee

The disclosure also contains a number of photos of excerpts from the Vladimir Nabokov book Lolita penned in dark ink across different parts of a woman's body, such as her chest, feet, hip, and spine. Lolita recounts the account of a young girl who was exploited by a adult literature professor.

One quote from the novel scrawled across a female's chest reads, "Lolita's name: the point of the tongue traveling of three steps down the mouth to tap, at three, on the teeth".

Additionally, there are a number of photographs of female passports and ID papers from nations around the world, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Investigative Body

A large portion of the information on the papers, including identities and dates of birth, is obscured but the committee stated in a statement that the travel documents belong to "females whom Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators were engaging".

Another photograph shows Epstein sitting at a table in close proximity in the company of three individuals whose faces have been redacted - one has her hand on Epstein's torso under his garment, and a second is leaning to view a adjacent computer. Epstein appears to be aiding the final person attach a wristband.

Investigative Body

A further image disclosed is a capture of text messages from an unknown individual who says they have been provided "several females" and are demanding "$$1,000 for each individual".

Photograph Disclosure Comes Ahead of DOJ Cut-off

The body has a vast number of photographs in its possession from the Epstein estate, which are "at once graphic and everyday," its statement on Thursday noted.

The Congressional committee first subpoenaed the holdings of Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while facing trial on accusations of sex trafficking crimes, in August.

The images and records the Epstein estate's representatives gave to the panel are distinct from what is commonly termed "the Epstein files". Those are papers within the DOJ's possession connected to its independent probe into Epstein.

In accordance with the Transparency Act, which the President made law in November, the DOJ has until the date of 19 December to release its records. The extent of what is included in the DOJ's records is not publicly known, and it's expected that a significant portion of the information will be significantly obscured, similar to House Oversight Committee releases