Epstein island photos turn spotlight back on Trump as file release deadline looms

The pressure is back on Donald Trump, after a batch of photos of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island home were released by Democrats in the US Congress.

The images offer a rare and unnerving look behind the scenes at Little St James, including bedrooms, bathrooms, outdoor areas, and a room featuring a dentist’s chair and bizarre masks around the walls.

One photo shows a blackboard with the words “power”, “deception”, “time”, “intellectual” and “music” being visible, with some words redacted.

By releasing the 10 photos and four videos on Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee clearly hoped to bring public attention back to the Epstein scandal, and intensify pressure for the release of the so-called Epstein files, which Trump reluctantly agreed to release last month.

The images are understood to have been taken in 2020. Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 after being arrested in New York on sex-trafficking charges. His death was ruled suicide by officials. His former friendship with Trump has become a key source of potential damage for the President.

The Epstein files are in the hands of the US Department of Justice, which was given 30 days to release the files, starting from 19 November, when Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law after it passed through Congress.

The bill compels the release of essentially everything the Justice Department has collected over multiple federal investigations into Epstein, and his longtime confidante and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for luring teenage girls.

Those records total around 100,000 pages, according to a federal judge who has reviewed the case.

But experts have expressed fears that the Justice Department may redact swathes of the text.

David Andersen, an associate professor of US politics at Durham University, said the publication of the pictures was a tactical decision by House Democrats to re-ignite the pressure on Trump in anticipation of the release of the files.

“The motivation for the Democrats releasing the photos was purely to keep the story alive and in the public eye,” he said.

“There’s no real informational value with the photos but it’s nice to see where Jeffrey Epstein lived… He’s got a palatial mansion in a beautiful segment of the world so people will click on it and remind themselves that yes, we are all still waiting to see the Epstein files.”

Trump is likely to have been “enraged” by the release of the photos, Andersen added, returning attention to a subject he would rather ignore. “I’m sure this really frustrates the President because he’s being forced to deal with a story that he does not like,” he said.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse celebrated the passing of the act last month but may be disappointed with the amount of material that is released, as concerns arise around redactions.

Legislation allows the Justice Department to hold back personal information about Epstein’s victims and material that would jeopardise an active investigation.

Annie Farmer, who has alleged that Epstein sexually assaulted her when she was 16, told The i Paper last month that she wanted the release of the files to provide “transparency”.

She also expressed fears that it was “hard to have trust” that everything would be released.

Colin Alexander, a senior lecturer in political communications at Nottingham Trent University, said a heavily redacted version of the files was likely, as the Justice Department had done so with similar releases in the past.

“The reality is that so much of this could be redacted, to the point that the actual information which is contained within the files isn’t as important as the political point-scoring that happens from it,” he added.

Even if the Epstein files are not heavily redacted, Trump will do his best to downplay their release and reduce any potential risk to himself.

Richard Johnson, a senior lecturer in US politics at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The comments he’s made recently about Somali immigrants has moved the story onto immigration. He’s happy to have that conversation. The Democrats are trying to bring it back to Epstein which he really doesn’t want to talk about.”

Johnson added that Trump’s ability to control the narrative was something he could use when the files were released. “Once it’s out of the way, he can spin it and delegitimise it,” he said.

However, this is unlikely to dissuade Democrats from continuing to focus on an issue that has clearly damaged the President and created cracks between him and his Maga base.

Andersen said that Trump “really wants everybody to turn their attention away from the story and the Democrats are simply not going to allow that to happen.”