Scrutiny of the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files continued Saturday as 15 images made available Friday disappeared from the department’s website and with a leading Democratic senator vowing to investigate why all the records weren’t released at once.
One of the removed files includes a photo of a table with framed pictures of Epstein with famous people. Below the tabletop, an open drawer contained two printed pictures of President Donald Trump. One photo in the drawer showed Trump standing surrounded by women in bathing suits; the other was a known photo of Epstein with Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump hasn’t commented on the release of the files and hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s case.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday — in part, “By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”
The other photos removed from the trove of documents were almost all nude paintings of women in Epstein’s home.
House Oversight Democrats on Saturday posted a photo of the drawer with the Trump image, accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of covering up information.
“We need transparency for the American public,” the Democrats said on X.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the missing files Saturday.
Lawmakers criticize DOJ
The documents were found to be missing amid some backlash to the Justice Department’s production of records, which was incomplete despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s mandate that unclassified documents — with limited exceptions — be produced by Friday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the release fell several hundred thousand pages short of “all” the files and that it would take “a couple of weeks” for the rest to be published. The Justice Department released an additional three tranches of documents Saturday.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, vowed Saturday to investigate the release of the files, calling the Justice Department’s failure to publish all them by Friday a “violation of the law.”
“Yesterday could have been a win for survivors, accountability, and transparency to the public. It wasn’t. After mishandling the Epstein files all year, the Trump Administration is now violating federal law to protect the rich and powerful. It took an act of Congress to force Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino to even consider providing justice. They had a choice: survivors or Donald Trump. They chose the latter,” Durbin said in a statement.
“Senate Judiciary Democrats will investigate this violation of law and make sure the American people know about it,” he added.
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who sponsored the discharge petition that forced a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, expressed disillusionment with the Justice Department on Friday.
“The Justice Department’s document dump this afternoon does not comply with Thomas Massie and my Epstein Transparency Act,” Khanna said in a video on X. He further criticized the heavy redaction of the documents and added that he and Massie were “exploring all options” to get all files released, including potential impeachment or referral for prosecution of officials.
Massie agreed with Khanna and blasted Bondi and Blanche, writing Friday on X that the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that [Trump] signed just 30 days ago.”
Censored material
An NBC News analysis found that nearly 700 pages of documents from Friday’s drop were entirely redacted. An initial search of the documents released Saturday revealed no mentions of “Trump,” “Donald Trump,” “Clinton” or “Bill Clinton” — but the documents contained redacted parts that aren’t searchable.
Clinton hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s case.
Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, said in a statement Friday that “this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has been, never will be.”
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or what they’ll try and hide forever,” Ureña wrote.
The documents produced Friday included a number of materials that had already been made public through other means, including lawsuits, court filings and previous publications from the House Oversight Committee.
One new piece of information was Maria Farmer’s 1996 complaint to the FBI alleging Epstein stole nude photos of her 12- and 16-year-old sisters and sold them. Farmer sued the government in May, accusing it of failing to protect her and other victims from Epstein.
The case is pending, and the government hasn’t yet responded to the allegations other than to ask that the case be transferred from Washington, D.C., to the Southern District of Florida.
Clinton is pictured with Epstein in several photos and was also photographed in a hot tub along with a person whose face was redacted. He was also pictured swimming in a pool with Maxwell and with other women whose faces were redacted. The context and dates of the photos aren’t clear. Clinton traveled on Epstein’s jet four times, according to a 2019 statement from his spokesperson.
There were few mentions of Trump in the release. Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, told Vanity Fair that Trump appears in the files.
The files contained other high-profile celebrity cameos, including photos with Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, actor Kevin Spacey and the late pop star Michael Jackson.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing against Jagger, Spacey or Jackson. The Justice Department has said nothing in the files warrants investigation of any third party.
The dates of the photos aren’t clear, and representatives for Jagger and Spacey didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the photos.
