White House pushes back after House Dems release Epstein photos
House Democrats on Friday released 19 photos from a roughly 95,000‑image cache from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate — including party shots and images purportedly showing figures such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates with Prince Andrew, Woody Allen, Richard Branson and Steve Bannon, and even novelty items bearing Trump’s likeness — and said they will continue to publish more and urged the DOJ to make all files public. The White House pushed back, calling the releases “cherry‑picked” and “randomly redacted” and saying the photos do not show wrongdoing by Trump, while Republicans and observers noted the images themselves do not allege sexual misconduct as judges and the DOJ prepare a broader, court‑mandated release of Epstein records.
📌 Key Facts
- House Democrats on Dec. 15 released 19 photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, said they have received roughly 95,000 photos, and vowed to release additional images in coming days and weeks while urging the DOJ to fully release related files.
- The released images and related cache reportedly include numerous prominent figures photographed with Epstein — reported names include Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Bannon and Woody Allen.
- Specific Trump‑related items reportedly include multiple undated party shots (e.g., leis, Trump seated with a woman), Epstein appearing beside Trump in at least one photo, and novelty sex items bearing Trump’s likeness (reports note a visible sign reading 'Trump Condom $4.50').
- The White House and House Oversight Republicans pushed back, calling the Democrats’ release 'selectively released' or 'cherry‑picked' photos with redactions, asserting the images do not show wrongdoing and the release was a 'Democrat hoax.'
- Oversight Democrats and Rep. Robert Garcia accused the White House of a cover‑up and urged DOJ transparency; Rep. Jamie Raskin alleged the prior Trump administration 'killed' parts of the federal probe and ran a 'massive redaction project,' while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded full transparency.
- News outlets and Axios noted the publicly released photos do not depict sexual misconduct or otherwise prove wrongdoing.
- Legal/timeline context: President Trump signed a law in November requiring the DOJ to release Epstein records by Dec. 19; judges are preparing redacted grand‑jury transcript releases (Judge Richard M. Berman cleared roughly 70 pages), and Democrats framed their photo release as coming days before the DOJ‑mandated tranche.
- A Reuters–Ipsos poll reported 70% of Americans believe the government is obscuring details about others involved; 62% of Republicans agreed; 53% of Republicans approved the president’s handling of the Epstein files (up from 44% last month), while only 23% of Americans approved of Trump’s overall management of the files (up 6% since July).
📰 Sources (5)
Democrats press hard on Epstein files after years of sporadic interest under Biden
New information:
- House Democrats released 19 photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate on Friday.
- Democrats frame the push as coming less than a week before a DOJ-mandated tranche of Epstein case files is due for release.
- Rep. Jamie Raskin alleges the Trump administration 'killed' the federal probe into Epstein co‑conspirators and ran a 'massive redaction project,' while calling for full transparency.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated Democrats want 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'
- The White House labeled the renewed focus on Epstein a 'Democrat hoax' in response to the release.
White House slams House Dems releasing Epstein photos showing Trump, Clinton, Woody Allen
New information:
- White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused House Oversight Democrats of 'selectively releasing cherry‑picked photos with random redactions' to create a false narrative.
- A White House official told Fox News that none of the released documents show wrongdoing by former President Trump.
- Oversight Democrats reiterated they received 95,000 photos from Epstein’s estate and urged a full release of files.
- Article notes Judge Richard M. Berman cleared DOJ to release roughly 70 pages of 2019 grand‑jury transcripts under the new law (context to the broader release push).
Jeffrey Epstein pictured with Trump, Clinton in new photos released by Dems
New information:
- Oversight Republicans accused Democrats of cherry-picking and said nothing in the documents shows wrongdoing, issuing a formal statement.
- Rep. Robert Garcia said Democrats will continue releasing additional photos in coming days and weeks.
- Axios notes the released images do not depict sexual misconduct or suggest wrongdoing.
- Reuters–Ipsos poll: 70% believe government is obscuring details about others involved; 62% of Republicans agree; 53% of Republicans approve of the president’s handling of the Epstein scandal (up from 44% last month); only 23% of Americans approve of Trump's management of the files overall (up 6% since July).
- Context reminder: Trump signed a law in November compelling DOJ to release all Epstein records by Dec. 19; judges are preparing to release grand‑jury transcripts with redactions.
New photos from Epstein’s personal collection show Trump, Clinton and much more
New information:
- PBS itemizes additional figures pictured: Bill Gates with Prince Andrew; Richard Branson with Epstein; Steve Bannon with Epstein; multiple Woody Allen photos with Epstein and with Bannon.
- Specific new Trump image details: multiple undated party shots (e.g., leis, seated with a woman) and that Epstein appears beside Trump in at least one photo; image numbers cited in the committee’s release.
- New detail that the cache includes images of sex toys and novelty condoms featuring Trump’s likeness with a visible sign reading “Trump Condom $4.50.”
- Committee quote from Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia urging DOJ to release all files and alleging a 'White House cover-up.'