Documents, Trump photo, removed from DOJ site
A photo showing President Donald Trump’s face at the release of investigative files on notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein — and more than a dozen files — Appears to have been removed from the Department of Justice website.
The photo, published along with a number of other files on Friday, shows a table displaying a wide variety of framed and unframed photographs and other items. Among these photos, there are at least two that clearly show Trump’s face.
On Saturday, lawmakers quickly noted that the image was not available on the DOJ website.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a statement: “This photo, number 468, featuring Donald Trump from the Epstein files, has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release.” Publish on X. “@AGPamBondi is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American people.”
The photo featuring Trump was among at least 16 files that disappeared from the site, The Associated Press reported Saturday.
Friday’s release contained only a fraction of the scores of documents that must be released under the deadline set by the Epstein File Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to disclose all files. The Justice Department continued its partial release with more files related to the investigation early Saturday.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California said Friday that Congress is considering holding impeachment hearings for Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche if the released documents do not comply with the law.
“What we need is a clear timeline for when the rest of the documents will be released and an explanation as to why they didn’t release them all today,” Khanna said at a press conference following the release of the files. he said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., co-sponsored the House bill with Khanna ordering the Justice Department to release the files. On Saturday, he accused the Justice Department of blatantly ignoring the law.
“Compare the language of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which directs the DOJ to provide internal communications about its decisions, to the DOJ’s letter to Congress asserting its privilege to omit materials related to the decisions because they are not specified in the statute,” Massie wrote. a post on x.
From left, Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios Photography | Archive Photos | Getty Images
Although Trump is a former friend of Epstein’s, the president has not been accused of wrongdoing. She also denied awareness of Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls and women.
Trump’s name and image were noticeably rare among the files made public on Friday. But recently Trump was featured in a series of photos released by House Democrats, who obtained the photos directly from Epstein’s estate.
DOJ said: Publish on X He said late Friday that this meant “no politicians’ names were removed” and referred to comments from Blanche that echoed this.
“The only redactions applied to documents are those required by law, period,” Blanche said. “In accordance with the law and applicable laws, we do not remove the names of individuals or politicians unless they are victims.”
Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s criminal defense attorney, echoed this sentiment in a speech. Interview with ABC News He said Friday that “no effort” had been made to remove the president’s name in the release of the files.
The White House referred questions about the missing photo to the Department of Justice.
CNBC has reached out to the Department of Justice as well as House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, Calif., for comment.
Former President Bill Clinton appeared in several photos released Friday, and it’s unclear when or where the photos were taken. One of them showed Clinton sitting in a chair next to a young woman who was sitting on the chair’s armrest.
The former president was also not accused of abuse of power.
Clinton spokesman Angel Urena said: he said on friday“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to throw them out late Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about protecting themselves from what’s coming or what they’ll try to hide forever. So they can release all the grainy 20-plus-year-old photos they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton.”
“There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and waylaid Epstein before his crimes were discovered,” Urena said. he added. “The second group then continued their relationship with him. We are the first. No distraction from the people in the second group will change this. Everyone, especially MAGA, is waiting for answers, not scapegoats.”
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
