A photo recently released, albeit redacted, reveals a conversation between Steve Bannon, a former aide to Donald Trump, and Jeffrey Epstein. The image, lacking a specific date, was made available by the House Oversight Committee and distributed through the Associated Press.

Alongside this, another photograph shows Donald Trump standing next to Epstein, while a third, less distinct image features Trump seated with a woman whose face is obscured, his red tie noticeably loosened. The exact timing and location of these photographs remain unspecified.

Additionally, an image surfaces showing Trump surrounded by several women, their identities concealed by redactions. This image, too, was shared by the House Oversight Committee via SIPA USA, adding to the intrigue surrounding these associations.

Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Source: PA / House Oversight Committee

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump’s administration “has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever have”.

“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,” she said.

Former president Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and two others yet to be identified. Source: SIPA USA / House Oversight Committee

The Epstein scandal has been a political headache for Trump for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters.

Many Trump ‍voters believe Trump administration officials have covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

Richard Branson (right) with Jeffrey Epstein (centre) and another unidentified man. Source: SIPA USA / House Oversight Committee

The justice department in July said that there was no evidence to justify investigating any third parties in the Epstein case, and that it had found no “client list” or people who might have been involved in sex trafficking, or any evidence that Epstein had blackmailed anyone.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found that just half of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein case, well below his overall 85 per cent approval rating in his own party.

Former treasury secretary Larry Summers (left), his wife Elisa New (centre), and Woody Allen (right) on a plane. Source: AP / House Oversight Committee

Trump and Epstein were friends ‌during the 1990s and early 2000s, but Trump says he broke off ties before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges.

Trump has consistently denied knowing about Epstein’s abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls.

Filmmaker Woody Allen (right) with Jeffrey Epstein (left) and an unidentified woman. Source: SIPA USA / House Oversight Committee

A spokesperson for the committee, which is led by Republican chairman James Comer of Kentucky, said Democrats were politicising the investigation by “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions to create a false narrative about President Trump”.

The Democrats said they redacted the women’s faces to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates with another unidentified man. Source: SIPA USA / House Oversight Committee

Trump signed into law last month an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill, led by Democratic representative Ro Khanna of California and Republican representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, that compels the justice department to release the Epstein files within 30 days.