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Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly defended her group’s work
In testimony earlier than Congress, Bondi implicated the Obama administration for its refusal to deal with the Epstein intercourse trafficking scandal.
Widespread concern that faculty images firm Lifetouch seems within the Department of Justice’s recordsdata on Jeffrey Epstein have sparked viral social media posts and faculty districts across the nation responding to upset dad and mom. But the corporate is refuting the claims.
“Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files. The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities,” Lifetouch said in a statement on its website and posted on social media Feb. 10.
Still, worries about Lifetouch being named within the Epstein recordsdata have unfold rampantly on social media.
One content material creator posted an Instagram Reel on Feb. 12 warning dad and mom about faculties that use the corporate and advising them to decide out their youngsters from the photographs. It has 39,000 views to this point.
On X, in a publish with greater than 100,000 views as of Feb. 13, a user reiterated the claim that the corporate is within the recordsdata and wrote, “They keep a database of all the digital photos of kids and their personal info.”
The dialogue seems to stem from the possession of Lifetouch’s guardian firm, Shutterfly, which is owned by non-public fairness agency Apollo Global Management. Leon Black, the previous CEO of Apollo Global Management, is known as within the Epstein recordsdata.
Here’s what to know concerning the connection between Lifetouch, Apollo Global Management, Black and Epstein.
Is Lifetouch within the Epstein recordsdata? Ties to billionaire Leon Black, defined
Lifetouch stated it isn’t named within the Epstein recordsdata. The firm has emphasised pupil privateness amid rumors about its ties to the convicted intercourse offender.
“When Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and schools, only, with no exceptions,” Lifetouch stated in a statement addressed from current CEO Ken Murphy.
The connection between Lifetouch and the Epstein recordsdata ties again to Black, a billionaire and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which owns Lifetouch’s guardian firm, Shutterfly.
Apollo Global Management was not linked to Shutterfly, and subsequently Lifetouch, till it acquired Shutterfly in September 2019, one month after Epstein’s loss of life.
Emails present Epstein’s associates arranging conferences between him and Black from 2010 to 2017. Black can also be talked about in an electronic mail thread between FBI workers. The electronic mail says somebody “stated Epstein told her to give Black a massage while Black was naked and that someone stated another female gave Black a massage and he made her perform oral sex.” The names of the accuser or accusers are redacted.
Susan Estrich, Black’s lawyer, beforehand denied any wrongdoing in a press release to USA TODAY.
“Mr. Black asked for an independent investigation of his relationship with Epstein. The Dechert law firm investigated and reviewed more than 60,000 documents, interviewed more than 20 people and concluded that Mr. Black paid Epstein for estate planning and tax advice and that he had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activities,” the assertion stated.
Black left Apollo Global Management in March 2021 amid elevated scrutiny about his relationship with Epstein, The New York Times reported.
USA TODAY has reached out to Apollo Global Management for remark.
School districts handle Lifetouch, Epstein reviews
As dad and mom raised issues about Lifetouch’s doable connection to Epstein, a number of faculty districts across the nation responded to the rumors.
Prescott Valley Charter School in Arizona announced on Feb. 10 that it was canceling upcoming image days “out of an abundance of caution,” citing “recent media coverage and online discussion related to the photography company Lifetouch.”
“While we do not have any information indicating a direct impact on our school or our students, our highest responsibility is always the safety, security, and trust of our families,” the college stated.
In Salinas, California, Mónica Anzo, the superintendent of Alisal Union School District, addressed unfounded rumors that Lifetouch “has shared photos with unauthorized third parties without consent, for nefarious purposes” in a letter to oldsters on Feb. 11.
“The safety and security of our children is the District’s most important concern, and we want to reassure you we verify our third party vendors adhere to the same safety standards,” stated Anzo, who additionally shared a replica of Lifetouch’s assertion.
Anna M. Cutaia, the superintendent of Milford Public Schools in Milford, Connecticut, additionally issued a letter sharing Lifetouch’s assertion.
“We are writing to address recent media reports regarding the release of the Epstein investigation files and separate allegations involving the leadership of Lifetouch, a photography company commonly used for school pictures,” Cutaia stated. “We understand these headlines are concerning and want to provide clarity for our families.”
What is Lifetouch? Read extra from assertion.
Lifetouch is an 80-year-old images firm headquartered out of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, its website says. The firm is well-known for its footprint throughout the nation in capturing faculty photographs from preschool by highschool, in addition to for different school-related actions.
According to the company’s timeline history, Shutterfly bought Lifetouch in 2018.
In the assertion addressing pupil privateness, Lifetouch wrote:
- Lifetouch photos are shared just for the needs of faculty data and to permit dad and mom or guardians to buy them. Additionally, as a part of our many years lengthy relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Lifetouch prints SmileSafe playing cards freed from cost for every pupil we {photograph} that households can use with legislation enforcement if a toddler goes lacking.
- Lifetouch follows all relevant federal, state, and native information privateness legal guidelines, together with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In reality, Lifetouch was the primary faculty images firm to signal a voluntary and enforceable privateness pledge—reaffirming our deep dedication to defending faculty communities.
- Lifetouch by no means shares, sells, or licenses pupil photos to coach AI fashions, together with massive language fashions, or facial recognition know-how. Lifetouch has by no means supplied photos for such functions to every other third get together.
- Funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management are buyers in Shutterfly, the guardian firm of Lifetouch. Neither Apollo nor its funds are concerned within the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and subsequently nobody employed by Apollo has ever had entry to any pupil photos.
- Lifetouch is just not named within the Epstein recordsdata. The paperwork include no allegations that Lifetouch itself was concerned in, or that pupil photographs have been utilized in, any illicit actions.
Read the full statement on the Lifetouch web site.
Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Kathryn Palmer and Jayme Fraser, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is a nationwide trending reporter for USA TODAY. She could be reached at [email protected].
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