The Department of Justice released thousands of pages of files on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell late Friday, triggering a predictable online frenzy over a parade of famous faces appearing in the photos. The release came in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed last month, requiring the DOJ to make all unclassified Epstein-related records public within 30 days. That deadline landed on Friday, and the department followed through with an initial batch consisting of photos, investigative materials, and communications. Many documents remain heavily redacted, and additional releases are expected.
We’ve already covered images showing Clinton in a hot tub and pool with apparent victims, which indeed look bad. But the newly released images also include photos of celebrities. One shows Michael Jackson posing with Epstein in front of a painting. Additional photos capture Mick Jagger sitting between Epstein and Clinton, and another shows Jagger seated next to Ghislaine Maxwell in what appears to be a restaurant or lounge. Actor Chris Tucker and former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson appear in separate photos with Maxwell. One particularly odd black-and-white image shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lying across the laps of five people whose faces are blacked out, with Maxwell and a sixth, also blacked out, standing behind them. Each image comes with the same caveat, that appearing in a photo does not necessarily imply wrongdoing. However, that distinction did little to slow Democrats eager to weaponize the release against Trump, despite the timing and contents pointing elsewhere.
Ironically, that’s the same argument, essentially, that the Clinton camp used in the wake of the latest Clinton images. As PJ Media previously reported, Angel Ureña, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, reacted angrily to the release, and attempted to distinguish between those who knew Epstein socially and those who maintained relationships after his crimes became known. “There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first,” he said. “No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that. Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.”
Related: Bill Clinton Panics After Latest Epstein Release Shows Him With Victims
That framing creates a problem for the Democratic narrative, because Trump fits squarely in the first category. He severed ties with Epstein years before the sex trafficking charges came to light, explaining in July that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago because Epstein was acting creepy. Ironically, so far, the only people known to have continued relationships with Epstein after his crimes were first made public were Democrats.
As more documents and photos are released, the current batch offers a clear lesson: Inclusion in these materials does not automatically imply wrongdoing on the part of anyone depicted.
That distinction matters.
Epstein cultivated relationships with influential people in entertainment, tech, business, and even royalty for decades. Democrats tried to take innocuous photos of Trump and portray them as smoking guns, even though they weren’t. As the flood of Epstein files continues, clear eyes and a level head are essential. The political frenzy surrounding every new photo or document serves only those looking to score points. Not every image proves criminal activity. Just because Democrats pulled that crap on Trump doesn’t mean we should respond in kind.
The truth will emerge in time, and when it does, it deserves fair judgment rather than a partisan filter. Transparency matters most when it is paired with restraint and reason, and it is worth noting that, after four years of the Biden administration failing to release these files, the Trump administration is finally doing so.
