Sexual assault allegations against US President Donald Trump reportedly “disappeared” from Epstein’s files within hours of their publication, the Telegraph reported on Friday.
The file was later recovered. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) told The Telegraph: “This document was down due to congestion and is back online.”
Todd Blanche, the deputy US attorney general, also reportedly admitted that the team tasked with reviewing the documents would inevitably make mistakes and would “immediately correct any editorial errors.”
On Friday, the Justice Department released its latest and likely final tranche of files related to the investigation of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The files were released more than a month after a missed deadline set by Congress. They include more than three million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
Allegations against Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump is mentioned hundreds of times in the newly released files. Trump had a friendship with Epstein, but says it soured years ago.
One document, that allegedly “disappeared” in the ‘Epstein Papers’ contains a number of unsubstantiated tips about Trump allegedly collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in August of last year.
A “summary of complaints” in the document claimed it was made by an “unidentified girlfriend” that a 13- or 14-year-old girl was forced to perform oral sex on the president decades ago.
It reads: “…an unidentified girlfriend who was forced to have oral sex with President Trump approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey. The girlfriend said…she was approximately 13-14 years old when it happened.”
It further claimed that “boyfriend allegedly bit President Trump during oral sex”.
“The friend was allegedly punched in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump. The friend said Epstein abused her as well,” the claim said.
Trump and the White House deny the claims
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and even denies knowledge of his sex crimes.
In addition, The White House warned that Epstein’s files “may contain false or falsely presented images, documents or videos” because the administration turned over “everything the public sent to the FBI.”
The DOJ press release accompanying the new batch of files said that: “Some of the documents contain false and sensational claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI just before the 2020 election.”
The U.S. Department of Justice said, “To be clear, the claims are unsubstantiated and false, and if they have an iota of credibility, they would certainly already be weaponized against President Trump.”
A batch of files released on December 19 released a picture of Epstein’s desk with a photo of Mr Trump surrounded by women, which the Justice Department deleted and then re-uploaded after the outcry.
