Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate Thursday — the latest in a series of intermittent disclosures that have fueled significant political intrigue in recent weeks about who may have been associated with the convicted sex offender.
The five photos, released without additional context by the panel members, include a Ukrainian passport with a female notation, philosopher Noam Chomsky on a plane with Epstein, and Bill Gates posing for a photo with a woman whose face was redacted by Democrats on the panel.
The images also include a screenshot of a snippet of a text conversation in which a person is discussing texting girls.
“I don’t know try to send someone else. I have a scout friend who sent me some girls today. But she asks 1000$ for each girl. Now I send you girls. Maybe someone would be good for J?” the series of messages reads. The individual then sends a detailed description including name, “18 years old”, height, measurements, weight, a note about the Schengen area and “departure city.” Most of the details are redacted, although the age, control mark next to Schengen and Russia are all visible.
There is no context provided around this conversation, and it is unclear who the participants in the message exchange are.
The fifth photo shows a woman’s leg with a quote from “Lolita,” Vladimir Nabokov’s novel about a man’s sexual obsession with a 12-year-old girl, written on it.
It was not immediately clear when or where they were taken, or by whom.
A leg with a quote from Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” written on it is seen in this undated handout released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, Dec. 18. – House Oversight Democrats
Democrats noted that the estate did not provide any context around the images shared with the committee and said they publicized them as they were received, in addition to their responses. Democrats chose which photos to release as the panel received more than 95,000 images from the estate last week that lawmakers are still sorting through.
The panel members said with each release that they deleted any personally identifiable information of victims and survivors, or if it is not known whether a person in the photo is a victim of Epstein’s abuse.
Texts about sending girls and a description of an individual appear in this undated handout released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, December 18. – House Oversight Democrats
Oversight Democrats released portions of the photos sent to the committee by Epstein’s estate last week, while the Republican-led panel has typically released documents and images in single drops once lawmakers have gone through them in full. Republicans on the committee accused Democratic members of “cherry-picking” images to paint a specific narrative.
“Oversight Democrats will continue to release photos and documents from Epstein’s estate to provide transparency for the American people,” Ranking Member Robert Garcia said in a statement. “As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Justice Department has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DOJ must release the Epstein files now.”
Earlier photos from Epstein’s estate released by Democrats showed the late financier’s private island and the many powerful figures in his orbit.
Bill Gates poses for a photo with a woman whose face has been redone, in this undated photo released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, December 18. – House Oversight Democrats
Gates and Chomsky have previously reported that they knew Epstein, as well as being pictured in previous pictures from the estate. CNN reached out to representatives for every man.
A spokesman for Gates has previously repeatedly denied that Epstein ever worked for him. Gates previously said he regretted meeting Epstein, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2021: “It was a big mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility to be there.”
Chomsky previously declined CNN requests for comment. It is known that he once wrote a letter of recommendation for Epstein, talked with Epstein about science and philosophy, and was invited by Epstein to stay in one of his houses in 2015.
The Republican-led committee obtained the images from Epstein’s estate as part of the ongoing investigation. The panel has so far released tens of thousands of documents, emails and communications it received from Epstein’s estate.
A Ukrainian passport, with some information redacted, is seen in this undated handout released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, December 18. – House Oversight Democrats
In a letter to the committee, attorneys for the estate noted that they could review videos and photos they had requested “taken at any Epstein property, rented, operated or used from January 1, 1990 to August 10, 2019.”
While the committee said the documents obtained continued to open new lines of investigative inquiry, the slow disclosure from Capitol Hill was at times painful for many of Epstein’s victims.
In a recent interview with CNN, a group of survivors said that not knowing when – and what might come out on any given day was a stressful experience. They also said that some of the releases so far have triggered memories of their trauma going back years.
Hundreds of victims believed to have been abused by Epstein are also currently preparing for the Justice Department’s release of his Epstein files – a disclosure expected to be greater in breadth and scope than anything released to date.
But the DOJ, which faces a Friday deadline to make its investigative files public under a law passed by Congress last month, has not publicly detailed the specific timing or parameters of its upcoming release, and survivors who spoke to CNN said they had not received any communication from the department to discuss it.
CNN’s MJ Lee contributed to this report.
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