Never-before-seen footage from Jeffrey Epstein’s island released

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released never-before-seen footage from Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous island home.

The photographs and video appear to show several bedrooms in the U.S. Virgin Islands home, as well as a room with masks on one wall and a telephone with names written on speed dial keys.

In a statement, the committee’s Democratic leader, Robert Garcia, said they collectively formed a “disturbing look” into Epstein’s world and were being released to “ensure public transparency.”

On Nov. 19, President Donald Trump signed a bill ordering the release of government records on the recently convicted sex offender — a significant turning point in a months-long battle to obtain those records.

These files include the vast trove of documents that were collected during two criminal investigations into Epstein, including interview transcripts and confiscated items.

On Wednesday, five members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, reportedly asked Attorney General Pam Bondi before the end of the week for an update on the planned release of these records.

Several survivors claimed they were victims of trafficking and abuse on the island, known as Little St James, which Epstein purchased in 1998.

The newly released 2020 images also show what appears to be a dental chair and a room with a blackboard with words such as “truth”, “deception” and “power” scrawled on it. Some words have been redacted.

In a statement, Oversight Committee Democrats said the images and videos came from a Nov. 18 request to the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands for information about investigations into Epstein and his imprisoned co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island,” Garcia said.

“We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency of our investigation and to help paint a complete picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” he added. “We will not stop fighting until we have a complete picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”

According to Garcia, the committee also received documents from JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, which they intend to release “in the coming days.”

Little St James was one of two islands in the Virgin Islands owned by Epstein.

In 2022, the US territory’s attorney general reached a settlement of more than $105 million (£78.6 million) after local authorities claimed “dozens of young women and children” had been trafficked, raped and assaulted on the two islands.

The footage sheds little new light on the case, beyond providing insight into one of Epstein’s crime scenes and his opulent lifestyle in the Virgin Islands.

The release, however, comes as the Trump administration remains under pressure to release the broader body of documents maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice, with Garcia saying in his statement that “it is time for President Trump to release all the records, now.”

Later Wednesday, the committee released a second batch of some 200 images as well as several videos. Most of them showed the same rooms as the first batch, with a few new close-ups of the exposed dentist chair and masks on the walls of this room.

All masks are in a similar style and depict male faces.

Other images show personal items around the house, such as a wide selection of shampoos and conditioners and various art objects, including statues and paintings.

There is also a photo of Epstein and Maxwell meeting Pope John Paul II.

The photos appear to have been taken in 2020 according to the metadata – after Jeffrey Epstein’s death in 2019 – so the house appears to have been packed up, furniture stacked and artwork removed from the walls.

The release also includes a video showing a tour of Epstein’s property. It shows a palm-fringed swimming pool with an archer statue and a path leading to the ocean.

The bill signed by Trump last month gives the department 30 days — until Dec. 19 — to make them available in a “searchable and downloadable format.”

But there are obstacles to sharing the files with the American public at this time.

On the one hand, the bill states that the Justice Department can withhold any document that jeopardizes “an active federal investigation or pending prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”

This could potentially lead to delays, given that Trump has called for investigations into Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats “to determine what was going on with them, and he [Epstein]”.

The latest bill also states that Bondi can “withhold or redact” records containing victims’ names, medical records and other personal information that “would constitute a manifestly unjustified invasion of privacy.”

The five members of Congress who requested an update from Bondi on Wednesday said they wanted to understand any “procedural obstacles that might interfere” with the Justice Department’s ability to meet its 30-day deadline, according to a letter they wrote and published by NBC News.

The letter referenced Trump’s recently ordered investigation of prominent Democrats. He said the basis for this decision should prompt Bondi to provide a “briefing in a classified or unclassified setting, to discuss the full content of this new information.”

One of the letter’s five signatories, Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, explained the decision regarding