More photos released on eve of Jeffrey Epstein files deadline
The faces of women in the images were obscured by Democrats before the release. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
In short:
Another batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate has been published online by Democrats, who are pressuring Trump officials ahead of the legal deadline for the Epstein files' release.
Several high-profile men appear in the images, which have been released without context.
What's next?
The US Department of Justice has a deadline of Friday, local time, to release its investigative records relating to Epstein and his co-offender, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Democrats have continued their drip-feed of material from sex predator Jeffrey Epstein's estate, releasing more photos on the eve of a deadline for the full publication of the Epstein files.
The newly released images include photos of Epstein with other high-profile men, maps of his private island and a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation.
Four photos show parts of a person's body displaying handwritten quotes from the novel Lolita, about a middle-aged man's infatuation with a 12-year-old girl.
One image showed a woman's foot with the novel Lolita in the background. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
Bill Gates, with a woman whose identity was redacted, has said he regrets spending time with Epstein. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
The 68 images also include Epstein's passport, as well as passports and ID cards from around the world, which belonged to "women whom Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators were engaging", according to Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia.
The images have been released a day before a deadline for the Justice Department to publish its investigative records relating to Epstein and his co-offender, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Democrats have been pressuring the Trump administration to meet the deadline of Friday, local time, which was set by Congress last month, without making unnecessary redactions.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the latest release changed nothing.
"President Trump has been consistently calling for transparency related to the Epstein files and his administration has delivered," she said in a statement.
A map of Great St James Island, which Epstein owned, was among the images. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
Pills used to treat urinary tract irritation were shown in one photo. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
The department and Trump officials have not provided any information about when or how the files will be published. The law mandates they must be downloadable and searchable.
Redactions are only allowed in limited circumstances, such as to protect victims and ongoing investigations. Files cannot be withheld to prevent political embarrassment.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who introduced the legislation to force the files' release, said it would be clear to victims and their lawyers if they were not released in full.
"Collectively, they know there are at least 20 names of men who are accused of sex crimes in the possession of the FBI," Mr Massie said in a video message on X on Thursday.
"So if we get a large production on December 19th and it does not contain a single name of any male who's accused of a sex crime or sex trafficking or rape or any of these things, then we know they haven't produced all the documents."
Congress's House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the newly released images from Epstein's estate as part of a separate investigation into the federal government's handling of his case.
Mr Garcia, the committee's top Democrat, says committee members are reviewing 95,000 images, which are "both graphic and mundane". They are periodically releasing them "to provide the public with transparency" after redacting personal details about victims.
The newly released photos show several men who have been connected to Epstein in the past. They include businessman Bill Gates, who has repeatedly said he regrets spending time with Epstein, philosopher Noam Chomsky, who has said Epstein helped him with financial transactions and they "met occasionally", and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who has said he was filming a documentary series on Epstein before his death.
Epstein was known to be well connected in the worlds of business, politics and celebrity, and there is no suggestion the men in the photographs were involved in wrongdoing.
Noam Chomsky (left) has previously said Jeffrey Epstein helped him with money transfers. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
Part of a WhatsApp conversation was shown in a screenshot. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee Democrats)
As with previous releases of material, the images were put online without information about when and where they were taken.
Mr Garcia said that information had not been provided to the committee, and "therefore the images are presented as received".
Committee members have previously released emails that referenced US President Donald Trump (though they did not accuse him of wrongdoing) and photos of Epstein's private island and high-profile men Epstein was known to associate with.