So, it happened again. Just when everyone thought the Jeffrey Epstein files had finally been picked clean, a new batch of photos surfaced from the House Oversight Committee. It's late 2025 and 2026, and the internet is basically on fire with "new Trump Epstein photos." Some of them are real. Some of them are weirdly specific artifacts of the 90s. And, honestly, quite a few of them are total fakes created by someone with a Midjourney subscription and an axe to grind.
If you’re looking for the "smoking gun," you might want to slow down. The reality is a lot more complicated than a single clickbait headline. We’re talking about thousands of images being dumped by the Justice Department and House Democrats, showing everything from Epstein's private island bathrooms to the richest men in the world wearing Hawaiian leis.
Why the New Trump Epstein Photos Are Back in the News
The recent explosion of interest stems from the December 2025 release by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. They dropped a tranche of nearly 100 images—part of a massive collection of 95,000 photos obtained from Epstein’s estate.
In these specific shots, you see Donald Trump in his pre-presidential era. One undated photo shows him standing with six women at a party, all of them wearing leis. Their faces are redacted, which of course, makes the internet wonder who they are. Another shows him leaning in to talk to a woman while Epstein stands right next to him.
It’s not just Trump, though. The dump included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and even Steve Bannon. The Committee basically said they’re releasing these for "transparency," but the timing and the selective redactions have sparked a massive political brawl. Republicans called it "cherry-picking" to create a narrative, while Democrats say the public has a right to see how deep these social circles went.
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The Condom Photo That Went Viral
One of the strangest things in this new batch wasn't even a photo of a person. It was a picture of "Trump Condoms." Seriously. The image shows novelty packages with Trump’s face on them and the phrase "I’m HUUUUGE!" sitting on a table with a sign that says "$4.50." It's an bizarre, tacky piece of 90s memorabilia that Epstein apparently kept in his collection. Does it prove a crime? No. Is it weirdly indicative of the era’s obsession with the Trump brand? Absolutely.
Spotting the Fakes: AI is Making Everything Worse
Here is the thing you’ve got to be careful about. For every real photo released by the DOJ, there are ten AI-generated fakes floating around X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.
You’ve probably seen the one: a young, crisp-looking Donald Trump sitting on a porch with Epstein, surrounded by girls. If you look closely at the hands or the background faces, they look like melted wax. Full Fact and other investigators have already debunked several of these. One fake even showed Epstein with no legs. AI is good, but it still struggles with anatomy when it’s trying to "hallucinate" a 1994 cocktail party.
Real photos from the 90s have a specific "grain." They aren't perfectly sharp. The real ones released recently by the House Oversight Committee are often a bit blurry or have that flat, over-exposed flash look typical of old film cameras. If a photo looks too HD to be true, it probably is.
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The Timeline of a Falling Out
To understand the context of these new Trump Epstein photos, you have to look at the timeline. It’s well-documented that they were friends—or at least very close social acquaintances—from the late 80s until about 2004.
Trump once famously told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein was a "terrific guy" who liked beautiful women "on the younger side." That quote has aged like milk, obviously. But then, things went south. Depending on who you ask, the friendship ended because of a real estate dispute over a Palm Beach mansion (the "Maison de L'Amitie") or because Epstein reportedly harassed the daughter of a Mar-a-Lago member.
By 2007, Trump had reportedly banned Epstein from his properties. When the DOJ started dumping files in late 2025, they included flight logs that showed Trump flew on Epstein’s jet more than previously known—at least seven or eight times between 1993 and 1997. However, none of those logs showed him going to the private island, "Little St. James."
What the Experts Say
Legal experts like Brad Edwards, who has represented many of Epstein's victims, have noted that while Trump was in the "Black Book" and socialized with Epstein, being in a photo isn't the same as being a co-conspirator. The Justice Department itself noted in the December 2025 release that many documents contain "untrue and sensationalist claims" made by various parties over the years.
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The "Missing" Photos Controversy
In a weird twist during the December release, the DOJ actually pulled about 16 files—including a photo featuring Trump—shortly after posting them. This sent the conspiracy theorists into a tailspin.
The DOJ’s explanation? They were worried the photos might inadvertently identify victims. They eventually put them back up after a review, concluding there was no risk. But for a few days, the "missing photos" narrative was the only thing people were talking about.
It highlights a major problem with these massive data dumps: the "noise" often drowns out the actual information. We are looking at a mountain of 95,000 images, and the public is only seeing a tiny fraction that political committees choose to show us.
Actionable Steps for Staying Informed
If you're trying to navigate the flood of information (and misinformation) regarding these releases, here is how you should handle it:
- Check the Source: Only trust photos that come directly from official government portals or reputable news outlets like the AP, PBS NewsHour, or the House Oversight Committee's official releases.
- Look for Redactions: Official photos almost always have black boxes or blurred faces to protect the identities of non-public figures or potential victims. If a "new" photo shows everyone’s face perfectly, be suspicious.
- Verify the Metadata: If you're tech-savvy, look at the context. Most of the real images are undated but have been verified as coming from Epstein’s seized hardware.
- Don't Fall for the "Gaps": Just because a photo is "newly released" doesn't mean it was "hidden." Much of this data has been tied up in legal proceedings for years and is only now meeting public disclosure deadlines.
The reality of the new Trump Epstein photos is less about a single "gotcha" moment and more about a long, messy paper trail of the billionaire social circles of the 1990s. As more of the 95,000 images are vetted and released throughout 2026, we’ll likely see more tacky party photos and 90s memorabilia. But until the DOJ finishes its full review, every viral image should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.