The Department of Justice on Friday released a new set of documents and photographs connected to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose case has continued to prompt public scrutiny years after his death. Among the materials made public are several images that include former President Bill Clinton, according to multiple reports, as federal officials move to comply with recently enacted transparency requirements passed by Congress.
According to reporting by the New York Times, the release includes dozens of photographs, some of which depict Clinton in social or leisure settings. The Times reported: “The dozens of photos released on Friday include one of Mr. Clinton in a hot tub and another showing Mr. Clinton swimming in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, who conspired with Mr. Epstein to operate his sex trafficking operation and former girlfriend, along with a second woman. Another shows a woman seated closely with Mr. Clinton on what appears to be an airplane. There are also what appear to be a candid shot of Mr. Clinton speaking with Mr. Epstein and pictures of him with the musician Mick Jagger.” Several faces in the images have been redacted.
Justice Department officials have stated that the materials were released without additional explanatory context. It remains unclear which photographs were taken by Epstein himself, which were obtained by him from other sources, or where many of the images were originally captured. The department has not publicly detailed how the specific group of documents and photographs released Friday was selected, leaving questions about the scope and sequencing of future disclosures.
The release prompted a response from Clinton’s press office, shared publicly by journalist Yashar Ali. In the statement, Clinton’s press secretary said: “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. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be. Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump was wrong about Bill Clinton.”
Additional reporting has noted that other prominent figures appear in photos associated with Epstein. According to the Mirror, individuals such as Noam Chomsky, Bill Gates, and Woody Allen were also photographed with Epstein. The outlet reported that some of these images were “released by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee.” The DOJ has not independently commented on the provenance of those specific photographs.
The document release follows congressional passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, legislation requiring the disclosure of remaining federal records related to Epstein. The law was approved by both chambers of Congress amid bipartisan calls for greater transparency surrounding past investigations and institutional handling of the case. President Donald Trump later signed the measure into law, authorizing the release of “additional files” tied to Epstein.
In remarks surrounding the law’s enactment, Trump said the disclosures could “backfire” politically and stated that Epstein was “deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures” including Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. The Justice Department has emphasized that redactions may be applied to protect privacy interests or ongoing investigative considerations as further materials are released.
The Epstein case has long raised broader questions about accountability, prosecutorial decision-making, and the handling of evidence involving influential individuals. As more documents and images are made public under the transparency law, federal agencies are expected to continue balancing disclosure obligations with legal and privacy constraints, while lawmakers and the public review what the released records show—and what they do not.
