Epstein latest: Mystery text quoting price for 'girl' included in new pictures

We're pausing our live coverage, but there's every expectation we will be back on this topic tomorrow - the deadline for the US government to release all its files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Tonight, we got the latest in a series of mini-releases by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

This time, there were 68 pictures from the Epstein estate, showing the deceased paedophile with a number of individuals, such as former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, a Qatari royal and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

One thing - it's important to note that appearing in these pictures doesn't signify any wrongdoing.

Some images also showed words from the book Lolita written on a person's body - the novel tells the story of a girl groomed by a middle-aged literature professor.

Have a look at some of the images shared tonight for yourself here...

Our US correspondent Mark Stone has also been through the raft of images released tonight.

Two things he mentions:

• there is "disturbing stuff" in the pictures;
• and "there is no context surrounding precisely why the Democrats have chosen to release these".

Watch his breakdown here...

With the deadline fast approaching for the full release of the Epstein files (as we explained at 17.37), the Democrats are ramping up the pressure.

Congressman Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, posted a video message on social media urging the Department of Justice to release the files.

However, the video has now been removed from his account.

National security lawyers inside the Department of Justice are "working down to the wire", according to our US correspondent James Matthews.

Those lawyers are mulling "how much is actually divulged in these documents", as tomorrow's deadline for the full release of Epstein files edges closer.

"There will be redactions... the question is, how far short of everything? How far short of the full story will the release fall?" Matthews said.

"The issue at the heart of it... where does Donald Trump feature? Remember, he emphatically denies all knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities and any involvement in them."

Matthews notes people want to know the full extent of Trump's relationship with Epstein.

Many, however, "might be disappointed".

Watch Matthews's full remarks here...

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has been speaking ahead of tomorrow's deadline to release the full collection of Epstein files.

Jeffries told reporters he believes the Department of Justice will release the files in time, and warned that there will be "strong bipartisan pushback" if they don't.

"Based on my conversations with some of the top Democrats who've been working on this matter, related to full and complete disclosure of the Epstein files, we do expect compliance," he said.

Earlier, we told you that CNN reported that frustration is building at the justice department ahead of tomorrow (see 21:52 post).

A source has told the US broadcaster that there could be up to 1,000 redactions needed from each attorney - a time-consuming task that could well come down to the wire.

While Democrats released yet more images around Jeffrey Epstein tonight, let's bring you up to speed with another development.

Ghislaine Maxwell has filed a petition asking a US federal judge to overturn her sex trafficking conviction and free her from prison, claiming "substantial new evidence".

The disgraced British socialite and ex-girlfriend of the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

In the petition, Maxwell's lawyers argue that information that would have resulted in her exoneration at her 2021 trial was withheld, and that false testimony was presented to the jury.

They say the cumulative effect is a "complete miscarriage of justice".

Maxwell was jailed in 2022 for sex trafficking after recruiting young girls for Epstein during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Her latest legal bid for freedom came yesterday, two days ahead of the deadline for the release of the Epstein files - which include all material related to civil and criminal cases involving Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Another reminder if you needed one - tonight's image drop is not the full release of Jeffrey Epstein files.

The US government has a deadline of tomorrow to release those documents - all related to the investigation into the deceased paedophile - in full.

There's a big sense of anticipation for those papers, after campaigners demanded transparency for years.

But there's frustration building at the US Department of Justice ahead of tomorrow, according to CNN.

A report by the US broadcaster cites multiple sources familiar with the process, who said that a substantial number of redactions are needed.

One source said there could be up to 1,000 redactions needed from each attorney - a time-consuming task that could well come down to the wire, CNN says.

Several sources told CNN that lawyers believe they aren't getting clear or comprehensive direction on how to make the most information available under the law.

Meanwhile, two others said counterintelligence specialists were asked to drop almost all of their other work to process the Epstein documents, but some declined to participate.

A former president of the UN General Assembly has been pictured next to Jeffrey Epstein in the newly released images.

Miroslav Lajcak held the role between 2017 and 2018. He is also a former Slovakian foreign affairs minister.

Appearing in these pictures with Epstein isn't a sign of any wrongdoing.

Last month, he told TASR news agency: "The reopening of the Epstein case occurred after I left New York, and the full extent of his inexcusable actions, which I strongly condemn, only came to light after his arrest."

Shaher Abdulhak has been pictured next to Jeffrey Epstein in the newly released images.

It's important to mention that just appearing in these pictures does not amount to wrongdoing.

The deceased Yemeni billionaire businessman's son is a suspect in the murder of a Norwegian woman in Mayfair in 2008.

Farouk Abdulhak quickly fled to Yemen and has been wanted for questioning ever since the death of Martine Vik Magnussen.

She was found dead among rubble in a basement in Great Portland Street after a night out.

She and her friends had been celebrating finishing their end-of-term exams at the Maddox nightclub in Mayfair in London, but Magnussen vanished and her body was found two days later.

Jeffrey Epstein has been pictured with three girls in his house in New York.

One appears to be touching Epstein's chest, one is holding her wrist up and another is looking at a laptop.

The identity of the women has been hidden.

Another photo in the batch released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee shows Epstein alongside an officer.

The image has been supplied without any further context - as is the case with all the images - but the badge shows that this is a US customs officer.