As the latest Epstein files flood the internet, the images of Bill Clinton are doing what photographs always do in political storms: freezing a moment, but not the full story. His spokesperson Angel Ureña has drawn a hard line, insisting Clinton was in the group that walked away once Epstein’s crimes surfaced, and accusing those who stayed close of trying to stall and distract.

The White House’s decision to post one of the most damning pool photos with a glib “Oh my!” only intensified the sense of a political knife fight. Underneath the spectacle lies the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing nearly 600,000 pages into the open and rattling powerful circles. For Clinton, the battle now is less about a handful of grainy, decades-old pictures and more about whether the public believes he truly cut ties—before it was too late.