"No big deal": Trump plays down after his photo surfaces with Epstein

Washington DC [US], December 13 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) played down the significance of recently surfaced photograph showing him alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, calling the matter "no big deal."
Upon being asked by the media about the newly released images by the Oversight Committee that featured Trump, Bill Clinton and Steve Bannon, the US President said, "I haven't seen them, but I mean, everybody knew this man. He was all over Palm Beach."
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump added, "He (Epstein) has photos with everybody. I mean, almost there are hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him. So that's no big deal. I know nothing about him".
The reaction by Trump came after the Democratic members of the US House Oversight Committee on Friday (local time) released 19 previously unseen photographs from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's estate, depicting prominent individuals including current US President Donald Trump, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and other high-profile figures.
In a post on X, the Oversight Committee stated that the newly disclosed photos are a small selection from a larger cache of more than 95,000 images that the committee had obtained from Epstein's estate.
The released images show various public figures in the orbit of Epstein, intensifying calls for the full disclosure of Epstein-related files amid allegations of a White House "cover-up".
"Oversight Dems received 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. These disturbing images raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. Time to end this White House cover-up. Release the files!" the Oversight Democrats stated in their post.
Another image appears to feature a bowl of novelty condoms depicting a caricature of Trump's face with the caption, "I'm HUUUUGE!" The condoms, labelled "Trump condom $4.50", were produced by a New York City novelty store, Fishs Eddy.
Other images include Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, taking a mirror selfie with Epstein. Another showed Bill Clinton with Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and another couple, and another with Bill Gates alongside former Prince Andrew.
However, none of the released images are believed to depict any misconduct and details regarding when, where, or by whom the photos were taken remain unclear.
Responding to the release, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused House Democrats of "selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative," as reported by CNN.
She also highlighted Democrats previously connected to Epstein through documents, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Delegate Stacey Plaskett.
Jackson added that the Trump Administration has supported Epstein victims by calling for transparency, releasing thousands of documents, and investigating Epstein's ties to Democratic figures, contrasting it with the Democrats' actions.
"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," Jackson said, as quoted by CNN. (ANI)