Little St. James has been known for years as “pedophile island,” although the nickname has always hovered between rumor, exaggeration and sinister mythology. Until now. The Democrats of the Congressional Oversight Committee have decided to show their cards and have published ten photos and four unpublished videos of the Caribbean corner where Jeffrey Epstein built his empire of abuse. The blow comes at a calculated time: Washington is nervously awaiting the official publication of the case papers by the Department of Justice.
The new material works as a guided tour through the epicenter of horror. It shows a tropical garden that leads to a catalog swimming pool, paths marked with a “Do not enter”, two different bedrooms, a newly ventilated bathroom and another converted into a makeshift storage room. There is also a library-living room to which someone tried to give a certain sophisticated air without too much art. Among all this, two elements that already circulate in the offices of the Capitol stand out: a telephone with the speed dial keys crossed out and a blackboard with single words — “power,” “deception,” “plants” — that do not need any further explanation to worry anyone.
And then there is the room that has been fueling documentaries and theories for years: a room with a dentist’s chair surrounded by masks of male faces. The New York Times points out that he was able to serve Karyna Shuliak, a dentist and Epstein’s last partner. The piece adds one more detail, but the fundamental thing is still there: a space that does not fit with anything that one associates with a normal life.
The videos complete the tour. One walks through the garden to the pool; another delights in the palm trees shaken by the wind; The remaining two enter bedrooms where a man—with his face hidden—shows the suite as if he wanted to record that it existed as it was, without decorations or legends.
Democrats accompanied the material with a direct message in A warning that indicates that this issue is once again occupying the fast lane of American politics.
The images come from Epstein’s estate, forced by court order to hand over private emails, personal communications, financial records and all types of documentation. This material even includes the book of congratulations for her 50th birthday prepared by Ghislaine Maxwell, which included a ribald drawing attributed to Donald Trump and denied by him.
Robert García, a Democratic member of the Committee, made his party’s approach clear. “These new images offer a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island. We release these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” he explained. And he finished with a message directed to the other corner of the political board: “It is time for President Trump to publish all the files, now!”
Adding to this climate is an unexpected movement: Ghislaine Maxwell is preparing a writ of habeas corpus to review her 20-year sentence and request release from prison again. His lawyer, David Markus, advanced this in a letter to Judge Paul Engelmayer and warned that publishing grand jury materials with “unproven accusations” could seriously prejudice an eventual new trial. According to Markus, Maxwell “does not take a position” on the release of the files, although his notice comes just as Congress has just forced the Justice Department to release all unclassified documents.
The magnate’s former partner is serving time in Texas for recruiting minors for the sexual exploitation network run by Epstein. He died in 2019 in a maximum security cell; She remains in prison while her name reappears at every stage of the process and in every last-minute legal move.
The countdown marks a date: December 19. That day is the deadline for the Department of Justice to publish the case files. The Epstein Files Transparency Act forces Attorney General Pam Bondi to disclose millions of pages: flight logs, metadata, emails, contracts, immunity agreements, internal reports and even communications with the circle of power that orbited the tycoon. Bondi has permission to redact data that could identify victims or affect active investigations, but must justify each deletion and deliver an additional report to Congress within a maximum of fifteen days.
The exceptions have set off alarms among survivors, who already have too many disappointments. They fear that the process will once again dilute the truth or protect names that remain in the shadows. The Epstein case has been trapped for years between leaks, silences and loose pieces that never quite fit together. And, as the United States prepares for the largest declassification related to the magnate, Little St. James returns to the center of the radar: a tropical paradise where money, abuse, impunity and a network of power that has not yet said its last word converged.
