The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation, including photos and records of several well-known names in social settings with Epstein. However, the US administration is facing new criticism as the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have claimed that several files related to Jeffrey Epstein disappeared from the DOJ’s webpage.
Democrats accused the DOJ in a post on the social media platform X and alleged that a picture, file 468, which apparently included US President Donald Trump, had been removed from the release.
“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release,” Democrats on the House Oversight committee claimed on X.
“What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public,” the Democrats questioned, mentioning the US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Times has reported that the US President’s initial refusal to release federal files related to investigations into Epstein sparked speculation about whether those files featured Trump.
Notably, DOJ had earlier clarified that the released documents are being redacted solely to protect victims, and no politicians’ names are being withheld.
Earlier, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a post on X, “The only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law — full stop. Consistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals or politicians unless they are a victim.”
Epstein Files
The release of the Epstein files follows federal judges’ approval to unseal grand jury materials in cases against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, allowing the DOJ to publish the highly anticipated records, ANI reported. However, the documents still include 119 pages labelled as grand jury materials that remained fully redacted.
The Justice Department has not categorised much of the released material, making it unclear which portions were part of the grand jury materials authorised for release.
On Friday evening, the DOJ released an additional batch of evidence photos on its website.
The files, numbering about 120 photos, primarily depict FBI evidence boxes, envelopes, hard drives, old CDs, and computers.
Citing CNN, ANI reported that among the newly circulated images is one showing former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub.
Meanwhile, US President Trump’s name is rarely mentioned in the batch of Jeffrey Epstein files that his Justice Department released on Friday, based on a preliminary New York Times scan of thousands of documents and hundreds of photographs.
