The US Department of Justice (DOJ), under heavy fire on Sunday over its alleged “cover-up” of files linked to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, re-uploaded a photo of President Donald Trump found with the disgraced financier.
In a social media post, the Justice Department said the photo had been pulled from the site “out of an abundance of caution,” adding that it had been re-uploaded after a review found there was no evidence the photo depicted Epstein’s victims.
“The Southern District of New York has flagged an image of President Trump for possible further victim protection action,” the US Department of Justice said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice has temporarily removed the image pending further review. Upon review, it was determined that there was no evidence that the photo depicted any of Epstein’s victims, and it was republished without any changes or modifications,” it added.
However, netizens were not amused.
“We’re sorry we got caught,” one X user wrote, while another added: “The taxpayers who pay your salaries demand total transparency from our government. The more you try to hide the perpetrators of these heinous acts, the more you reveal your bias. Justice should be blind, not partisan.”
Another user wrote: “I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the attempted corruption or the inability to do it.”
The image in question shows a table with printed photographs recovered from Epstein’s possession. Among the photos printed was one that depicted the current US president and Melania Trump alongside the disgraced financier and Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Alleged cover-up
The image was originally uploaded as part of thousands of files released by the Justice Department on Friday, but was immediately taken down, sparking strong online criticism of the “cover-up”.
Even as netizens raged over the deletion of the photo — File 468 of the latest version — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee joined the chorus, asking Attorney General Pam Bondi, “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
But the deletion of Trump’s photo wasn’t the only point of contention, with reports over the weekend claiming that as many as 15 to 16 files were pulled from the DOJ website shortly after the latest release of the Epstein files.
As pressure mounted on the Justice Department, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the department on Sunday, saying the removal had nothing to do with Trump and was done to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims at the behest of victim advocacy groups.
“You can see photos of women in that photo. And so we learned after the release of that photo that there were concerns about those women and the fact that we put that photo up. So we took that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche, who has become the Justice Department’s face for questions about the Epstein files, told NBC Sunday.
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But it wasn’t just the deletion of this single photo that drew the ire of Americans: The newly released batch of Epstein files was heavily redacted, including one fully redacted 119-page Grand Jury document that critics say contradicted the nature of full disclosure mandated by the recently passed Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“The most transparent admin in history? These redactions are an absolute mockery of the survivors of Epstein’s abuse and the American people,” wrote Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, echoing the sentiments of many.
In response, the Justice Department also released a version of the previously censored 119-page Grand Jury document with “minimal redactions” on Sunday, saying: “The documents and photographs will continue to be reviewed in accordance with the law and with an abundance of caution for the victims and their families.”
