“Everybody knew this man. He was all over Palm Beach,” Trump remarked.
Washington DC [US], December 13, 2025, BNN Web Staff: US President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed the importance of a recently surfaced photograph showing him with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, describing the controversy as “no big deal.”
Responding to media questions from the Oval Office about images released by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, Trump said he had not seen the photographs but claimed Epstein was a widely known figure.
“Everybody knew this man. He was all over Palm Beach,” Trump remarked, adding that Epstein had photographs with hundreds of people and insisting he had no personal knowledge of him.
The remarks came after Oversight Committee Democrats released 19 previously unseen photographs from Epstein’s estate. The images include several prominent public figures such as Donald Trump, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, and former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
According to the committee, the photographs are part of a much larger collection of over 95,000 images obtained from Epstein’s estate. The disclosures have renewed demands from Democratic lawmakers for the full release of Epstein-related files, amid allegations of a lack of transparency from the White House.
In a statement posted on X, Oversight Democrats said the images raise fresh questions about Epstein’s relationships with powerful individuals and called for an end to what they described as a “cover-up,” urging the release of all related records.
Among the released images is a photograph showing novelty condoms bearing a caricature of Trump’s face with the caption “I’m HUUUUGE!” reportedly produced by a New York novelty store. Other photos show Epstein posing with Steve Bannon, and separate images feature Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Bill Gates alongside Britain’s Prince Andrew.
While the images have sparked political debate, there is no indication that any of the photographs depict illegal activity, and details about when and where they were taken remain unclear.
Reacting to the release, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused House Democrats of selectively releasing images to create a misleading narrative. She said the Trump administration has supported Epstein’s victims by pushing for transparency, releasing documents, and calling for investigations, while accusing Democrats of politicising the issue.
Jackson further claimed that allegations against Trump had been repeatedly debunked and criticised Democrats for what she described as selective disclosures aimed at political damage.
