The Department of Justice published thousands of photos of notable and powerful people, including many of former President Bill Clinton, in its release of thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday.
The dump is the first release after months of fighting between the Trump administration and both Democrats and members of the MAGA movement. A law passed by Congress in November required the full release of the documents by Friday and said redactions needed explanations, according to the lawmakers who wrote it. Friday night’s release does not include all of the files and includes many redactions without explanation.
Several photos that appear to be taken inside Epstein’s New York home office show a large painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress, resembling the one worn by Monica Lewinsky, hanging on a wall. The painting hangs adjacent to an unintelligible signed letter. A photo shows another painting, hanging in a bathroom, that depicts a cartoon version of Epstein and Clinton in front of a plane.
In other photos included in the files, Clinton appears next to Epstein, Epstein’s former partner Ghislaine Maxwell and redacted females.
One photo shows Clinton and Maxwell swimming with one redacted female. In another, Clinton is lying down in a hot tub with another redacted individual. In another picture, Clinton is sitting in a chair with his arms around a redacted female. Clinton also appears in multiple photos with various celebrities.
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever,” Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña said on X. “There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”
The photos of Clinton will almost certainly add to the congressional scrutiny of the former president’s ties to Epstein. House Oversight Chair James Comer issued a subpoena to Bill and Hillary Clinton in August. While the Clintons have offered to provide sworn statements, Comer has threatened to hold them in contempt if they do not appear for in-person depositions. None of the photos viewed by NOTUS that involve Clinton show obvious criminal activity.
A significant number of the photos released Friday depict Epstein’s properties and do not include images of any people. But the DOJ partially redacted many of the images for sexual content and to protect the identities of victims. Several documents note that child sexual abuse material was not scanned.
The DOJ also released dozens of documents that are completely redacted, but did not provide context for why the information can’t be publicized.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, one of the lawmakers who led the legislative effort to release the files, said in a video after the files’ release that the DOJ has not complied with the law.
“They released one document from a New York grand jury of 119 pages totally blacked out, despite a federal judge ordering them to release that document, and our law requires them to explain redactions. There’s not a single explanation for why that entire document was redacted,” Khanna said, adding a draft indictment that “implicates other rich and powerful men who were on Epstein’s rape island” was not included.
In a Friday letter to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department will provide redaction explanations.
“Consistent with the Act, the Department will provide an explanation for any redacted and withheld materials as part of this production,” he wrote.
Other powerful officials, foreign dignitaries and celebrities appear in the photos. Photos taken by FBI personnel also captured a journal entry that listed which of Epstein’s friends were spending time at his New York apartments.
Another photo shows notes on Epstein-branded letterhead. One such photo names “Elon” and “Thiel,” potentially referring to tech billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. However, like many photos of documents, the meaning and intent of the note is unclear. Spokespeople for Musk and Thiel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who was a close friend of Epstein for years, notably appears in few photos in this tranche of files. One of the photos depicts a framed photograph of Epstein, Trump and first lady Melania Trump sitting beside other framed photos on a table inside Epstein’s home.
Another framed photograph of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon standing beside Epstein sits on a table in another room, next to a framed photo of a person with their face redacted. Democrats on the Oversight panel have previously released similar images.
Congress ordered the Justice Department to release all photos related to Epstein in 30 days. Blanche told Fox News that the DOJ would not release all documents by the Friday deadline and more would be released in the coming weeks.
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