Donald Trump has responded to newly released photos of himself with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying they are 'no big deal'.
Yesterday (12 December) saw Democrats from the House Oversight Committee release previously unseen images belonging to the estate of Epstein, which included a number of high profile individuals.
Notable figures in the photos included President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, businessman Richard Branson, film director Woody Allen and others.
The latest release follows months of mounting pressure on Trump to publish files relating to Epstein's criminal activities, as well as facing allegations of wrongdoing himself.
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Trump has continually denied any knowledge of Epstein's illicit activities and maintains that he severed ties with the financier in 2004, years before his first arrest.
What has Donald Trump said about the newly released Epstein photos?
With new photographs showing Trump's likeness pasted over numerous condoms, and the 79-year-old surrounded by numerous young women - whose faces have been redacted - it was inevitable that the president would be grilled over the images.
Trump gave his answer during a press conference while signing a bill in the Oval Office, the US leader brushed the photos off as being 'no big deal'.
"I haven't seen it, but everybody knew this man, he was all over Palm Beach," he said. "He has photos with everybody. He has hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him. That's no big deal, I know nothing about it."
Trump is not the only person featured in photos with Epstein to deny any criminal wrongdoing. Being featured in an image alongside the disgraced financier also does not provide any proof of any further relationship or dealings with Epstein.
There is also no suggestion that any of the men featured in the images have done anything wrong.
Trump's comments echo the White House's official line regarding the images, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson previously attacking the Democrats' decision to publish them.
"Once again, House Democrats are selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative," she said in a statement to LADbible. "Here’s the reality: Democrats like Stacey Plaskett and Hakeem Jeffries were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein AFTER he was a convicted sex offender."
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EVERY CELEBRITY SHOWN IN IMAGES FROM EPSTEIN'S ESTATE
She continued: "The Democrat hoax against President Trump has been repeatedly debunked and the Trump Administration has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever have by repeatedly calling for transparency, releasing thousands of pages of documents, and calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends.
"It’s time for the media to stop regurgitating Democrat talking points and start asking Democrats why they wanted to hang around Epstein after he was convicted."
What have the Democrats said about the images?
Meanwhile, Democrats in the House Oversight Committee have promised the release of more photos, revealing that some images are 'incredibly disturbing'.
"It will take days and weeks to ensure that we go through those photos and that a redaction is done in the appropriate way," Democrat Robert Garcia told reporters.
"Some of the other photos we did not put out today are incredibly disturbing."
The release of the images follows President Trump previously signing a bill ordering a full release of the Epstein files, a deadline for the documents to be released is next Friday.
Topics: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Politics
Brenna Cooper