House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s email on Dec. 12, 2025, that show President Donald Trump with Epstein in this undated photograph.

WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats released another eyebrow-raising batch of photos Dec. 12 further linking several high-profile people, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.

But the fallout is just beginning. And the trove of information available to the public is about to get much bigger.

The disclosure of 19 new undated images, which showed celebrities including director Woody Allen and Trump's former West Wing aide Steve Bannon, was a prelude to even more file dumps that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee plan to make available to the public from a recent 95,000-photo disclosure. The panel published more than 70 additional pictures later the same day. (Lawmakers provided only limited specifics about the images, none of which specifically implicated any of the pictured individuals in any alleged wrongdoing.)

"We've gone through maybe about 25,000 of them so far," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, the ranking member of the panel, told reporters Dec. 12. "Some of the other photos that we did not put out today are incredibly disturbing."

The Justice Department has until Dec. 19 to release as many documents as possible related to its own investigations into Epstein. That deadline was specified in a law that Congress passed nearly unanimously in November and was signed by President Trump.

While members of Congress will be leaving Washington by that time for a holiday recess, the timing of the much-anticipated disclosures ensures it will be a dominant topic for at least the next few weeks, if not longer. That means lawmakers will return for the new year facing a range of choices about how to respond to the information that comes to light.

Republicans are in control of the Congress – giving them the authority to set hearings and the broader oversight agenda – but many of them have demonstrated a bipartisan interest in fully examining Epstein's complex web, despite the president's connections to it.

Trump has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Epstein's alleged criminality. Though the two had a personal relationship decades ago, Trump has said he distanced himself from the financier.

Democrats for months have accused the Trump administration of covering up for Epstein. But Trump noted on social media after signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act that Epstein was charged in the New York federal case in 2019, during his first term. He also noted that the financier, who died by suicide that year in a jail cell, was a longtime contributor to Democratic politicians.

"Once again, House Democrats are selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.

A lawyer for former President Bill Clinton did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment about the new images.

Judges cite new law to approve releases of information

The extent of what will be released next week is uncertain. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in July that most of what remains in internal files includes numerous child sex abuse videos or records that identify victims.

In recent weeks, the department has asked federal judges in cases related to Epstein to allow the release of grand jury transcripts and other evidence that would typically remain confidential. They've resoundingly complied.

On Dec. 5, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in Florida ordered the release of documents from the abandoned investigation of Epstein from 2005 to 2007. On Dec. 9, District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York greenlit disclosing grand-jury transcripts and exhibits from the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former associate, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The next day, District Judge Richard Berman in New York gave the go-ahead for sharing 2019 records from the grand jury investigation into Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, one of the authors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, told USA TODAY he's been encouraged thus far by both the recent court decisions and the Justice Department's compliance.

"The judges certainly are following the law, and the Justice Department petitioned them, based on our law," he said. "So far, it seems that they're making an effort."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Epstein photos turn heads, but file dumps just getting started

Reporting by Zachary Schermele and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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