A fresh batch of images from the estate of the late sex offenderJeffrey Epstein was made public on Thursday, one day ahead of a deadline by which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is legally required to release the "Epstein files."

The 68 images published by Democratic lawmakers from the US House Oversight Committee are taken from a cache of about 95,000 images that Congress acquired from Epstein's estate, which have been steadily drip-fed into the public domain in recent weeks, including last week.

Epstein estate: Who's in the latest photos?

Thursday's drop includes images of high-profile public figures, including billionaire businessman Bill Gates, prominent philosopher Noam Chomsky, filmmaker Woody Allen and Steve Bannon, former aide to US President Donald Trump.

Chomsky is pictured on what appears to be Epstein's private jet while Gates is depicted posing with women whose faces have been redacted. No suggestion was made by the lawmakers who released the images that any of the people in the photos acted unlawfully.

Other images show redacted identity documents and passports marked "female" and belonging to anonymous women from countries, including Russia, Morocco, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Ukraine and Lithuania.

One screenshot shows part of a text message exchange in which an unknown sender writes: "I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today. But she asks 1000$ per girl. I will send u girls now. Maybe someone will be good for J?"

Separate photos also show handwritten messages across the chest, neck, back and feet of a woman, including "she was Lola in slacks" — seemingly a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita," which is about a man's sexual obsession with a young girl.

Why are Epstein images being published?

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they were in possession of "thousands" more images, some "graphic," some "mundane," which they are continuing to analyze. 

They said Thursday's images "were selected to provide the public with transparency into a representative sample of the  photos" and "to provide insights into Epstein's network and his extremely disturbing activities."

"As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession," said California Representative Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee. "We must end this White House cover-up. The DOJ must release the Epstein files now."

What is the Epstein Files Transparency Act?

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed in November with bipartisan support before being signed into law by Trump, requires the DOJ to release its Epstein-related material by Friday in a format that is searchable by the public but which also safeguards the identities of potential victims.

Tens of thousands of records relating to Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, have already been released through civil and criminal cases in the US. Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021.

Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in New York City in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, but also fueled conspiracy theories and demands for accountability — including among some of the most vociferous Trump supporters and his MAGA ("Make America Great Again") movement.

Last week, oversight Democrats released 19 photographs, including some featuring Trump, who dismissed the images as "no big deal."

Edited by: Sean Sinico