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Bill Clinton in hot tub, cheque with Trump's sign: What was found inside Epstein files
Former US president Bill Clinton features rather prominently in the documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday.
Photos of former US president Bill Clinton made a prominent appearance as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday published thousands of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Besides, US President Donald Trump's signature on a giant novelty cheque also featured in the photos.
The release of the files followed the federal judges' approval to unseal grand jury materials in cases against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, allowing the DOJ to publish the highly anticipated records, CNN reported.
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The release comes at the end of months of political wrangling and a rare rebellion by some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters, who accused his administration of dragging its feet on making public all records tied to Epstein.
Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on November 19 after Congress overwhelmingly approved it, giving the Justice Department 30 days to release most unclassified material related to Epstein.
Bill Clinton features prominently
While one photo showed former president Clinton swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, he is seen in a hot tub with a woman whose face is redacted.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted to the photo and wrote “Oh my!” and added a shocked face emoji in response to the photo of Clinton in the hot tub.
Some of the photos show Clinton on a private plane, including one with a woman seated next to him with her arm around him, though her face is redacted from the photo.
A Clinton spokesperson accused the administration of releasing photos of the ex-president as a diversionary tactic, AP reported.
Trump's reference in Epstein estate photos
Another photos has US President Donald Trump's reference as Epstein is seen standing with a woman whose face is blacked out.
They are both holding a giant novelty check for $22,500, with a Trump signature on it. The picture is in a frame that says ‘Once in a blue moon’.
While it is unclear when and where the photo was taken, the check appears to match one previously seen in images of a birthday book Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. That same page featured a note from a Mar-a-Lago member making a joke about selling a ‘fully depreciated’ woman to Trump for $22,500.
Other highlights of Epstein photos
One of the photos shows Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew who is laying across the laps of multiple women whose faces have been redacted. Musician Michael Jackson, who already faced allegations of sexual abuse, is also seen in one of photos posing alongside Epstein.
Uproar over redaction of Epstein estate photos
The documents still include 119 pages labelled as grand jury materials that remain fully redacted, news agency ANI reported. These pages are interspersed with mainly other redacted documents, along with one explicit image of a woman.
Department of Justice (DOJ) has clarified that the recently released Jeffrey Epstein-related documents are being redacted solely to protect victims, and no politicians' names are being withheld.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated, "The only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law -- full stop. Consistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals or politicians unless they are a victim."
CNN quoted Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie, saying the partial release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.” Some survivors also expressed frustration as they struggled to find information about their own cases, CNN reported.
