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Oversight Panel

The Congressional oversight panel has published a set of around 70 photos obtained from the property of late convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

This marks the latest in a series of disclosure from a tranche of in excess of 95,000 photographs the committee has acquired from Epstein's holdings. It includes photographs of quotes from the novel Lolita written across a female's body, and redacted pictures of women's foreign passports.

This disclosure arrives just hours before the December 19th due date for the Justice Department to disclose every records connected to its investigation into Epstein.

"These latest photos raise more questions about exactly what the Department of Justice has in its custody," said the Democratic lead of the committee, Robert Garcia.

What's in the Photos Disclosed

Several of the images released on Thursday depict Epstein speaking with professor and activist Noam Chomsky on a private jet; Bill Gates seen beside a woman whose face is censored; Steve Bannon seated at a desk facing Epstein, and previous Alphabet president Sergey Brin at a evening meal.

Oversight Panel

These are the most recent high-net-worth, prominent figures to be photographed in Epstein estate images disclosed by the oversight panel - formerly released pictures also include US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as director Woody Allen, ex- US treasury secretary Larry Summers, counsel Alan Dershowitz, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, and other figures.

Appearing in the images is does not constitute indication of any misconduct, and many of the pictured figures have stated they were never implicated in Epstein's criminal activity.

In a press release accompanying the photo release, Lawmakers on the US House Oversight Committee said the Epstein estate did not offer context or timings for the images.

"Photographs were chosen to provide the American people with clarity into a illustrative selection of the photos obtained from the property, and to offer insights into Epstein's associates and his extremely troubling activities," the release reads.

Investigative Body

The publication also includes several images of excerpts from the Vladimir Nabokov book Lolita written in black ink across various areas of a female's body, like her upper body, lower extremity, pelvis, and spine. Lolita recounts the account of a adolescent who was groomed by a middle-aged literature professor.

An example of a passage from the novel inscribed across a woman's chest states, "Lo-lee-ta: the point of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to land, at three, on the teeth".

Additionally, there are a collection of images of female travel documents and identification documents from states worldwide, like Lithuania, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Oversight Panel

The majority of the details on the IDs, like identities and dates of birth, is obscured but the committee indicated in a statement that the passports belong to "females whom Jeffrey Epstein and his associates were interacting with".

Another photograph shows Epstein sitting at a desk in close proximity in the company of three female figures whose faces have been censored - one has her hand on Epstein's chest under his shirt, and a second is bending to examine a close-by laptop. Epstein can be seen to be aiding the third attach a bracelet.

Committee

A further photo disclosed is a screenshot of text messages from an unknown individual who states they have been sent "several females" and are requesting "$one thousand dollars for each individual".

Image Release Comes Prior to DOJ Cut-off

The body has a vast number of photographs in its custody from the Epstein holdings, which are "both disturbing and ordinary," its announcement on this week clarified.

The House Oversight Committee first subpoenaed the estate of Epstein, who was found dead in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on accusations of human trafficking, in August.

The photographs and records the Epstein property submitted to the committee are different than what is largely termed "Epstein-related records". Those files are papers under the Department of Justice's custody connected to its separate inquiry into Epstein.

Under the recently passed law, which Donald Trump signed into law last month, the DOJ has until 19 December to release its files. The extent of the contents found in the DOJ's documents is unclear, and it's expected that much of the information will be heavily obscured, similar to Congressional materials