Amid the backlash over the removal of photos from the recently released Epstein files, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi reaffirmed on Sunday that the Justice Department “has previously indicated that we will pursue charges against anyone involved in the trafficking and exploitation of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.”
She wrote on X: “We reaffirm this commitment and ask each victim to provide any information regarding any individuals who have engaged in illegal activity at their expense.”
She said authorities have met with many victims and victim groups and will continue to do so if others come forward.
“Please contact me, DAG Blanche or the FBI and we will investigate immediately. We believe in the same standard of justice in this country and we will ensure that justice is served,” Bondi said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche previously said Justice Department officials were protecting victims of Jeffrey Epstein when they removed several images from files released by the agency related to the notorious sex offender.
“There were several photos that were taken down after they were posted on Friday,” Blanche said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “That’s because a judge in New York has ordered us to listen to any victim or victims’ rights group if they have any concerns about the material we’re presenting,” Blanche said.
Jeffrey Epstein stirs up controversy
The Justice Department released thousands of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, December 19. However, the ministry has come under fire for redacting and allegedly removing photos from files that were already released on Friday.
As many as 16 photos, including an image of Trump’s desk drawer, were removed from the Justice Department’s website on Saturday, according to The New York Times, NPR and the Associated Press, although Reuters could not independently confirm the removal.
The Justice Department said later Sunday that it had restored one photo after finding “there is no evidence that any of Epstein’s victims were depicted in the photo.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier Sunday that his office removed the photo because of concerns about the women in the photo. “It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
“You can see in that photo there are photos of women,” Blanche said earlier Sunday. “And so we learned after the photo was released that there were concerns about the women and the fact that we put the photo up. So we took the photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump.”
But Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee accused the Trump administration of violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act and patronizing President Donald Trump.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said on CNN’s State of the Union that the administration is “covering up things that Donald Trump doesn’t want to make public for whatever reason.”
Blanche denied the allegation and promised that nothing related to Trump would be withheld from the files.
“If President Trump is mentioned, if we have photos of President Trump or anyone else, of course they will be released, except for victims or survivors that we have identified,” he told NBC.
