A photo of Donald Trump flanked by women in bikinis was among more than a dozen Epstein files that were suddenly pulled from public view at the weekend, leading to claims of a cover-up.
After releasing 300,000 pages from the files on Friday, the US Justice Department removed a number of them.
Many of the files had already been heavily redacted, with nearly 700 pages entirely blacked out and women’s faces obscured in photos, leading to accusations that the public is not being given the full story.
Hundreds of photos were released, some apparently taken by Jeffrey Epstein himself, and dozens of others by the FBI when they raided the paedophile financier’s properties.
One of these showed an open desk drawer containing two photos of President Trump. In one previously unseen snap, he poses with four women in swimwear.
Last night, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche defended the decision to remove the picture from the public archive. He cited concerns about the women’s identities, but insisted there was no suggestion that they had been among Epstein’s victims.
However hours later in a dramatic u-turn, and after accusations of a cover-up, the Department of Justice announced that the image had been returned.
The same picture featured another photo depicting Trump alongside his wife Melania, Epstein, and the paedophile’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The department explained on social media: ‘The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims.
‘Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review.
‘After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction.’
The missing files, which were available Friday, contained a photo Trump, alongside Jeffrey Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell
The photo in the drawer is Trump with his wife Melania, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell circa February 2000 was noticeably missing from the files the Department of Justice released on Friday
The Department of Justice claimed the photo was removed to ensure no victims were pictured
There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships
Mr Blanche added: ‘We learned after releasing that photograph that there were concerns about those women… so we pulled [it] down. It has nothing to do with President Trump. If we believed the photograph contained a survivor we would not have put it up… without redacting the faces.’
He added that the Justice Department was ‘still investigating’ the photo and does not have ‘perfect information’.
‘The photo will go back up, the only question is whether there will be redactions,’ he said. ‘If there are survivors in any of the photos, we will redact them.’
Some have suggested that the photo of Mr Trump with the women may have been taken during a Miss Hawaiian Tropic swimsuit contest, which he had judged several times.
The other photos removed from the documents were almost all of paintings of naked women that were hanging in Epstein’s home.
Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda, who was abused from the age of 14 until she was deemed ‘too old’ at 17, called the redactions a ‘slap in our faces’.
She told Sky News: ‘We were just in shock… there is nothing there that is transparent.’
Mr Trump, who for decades moved in the same circles as Epstein in New York and Florida, has tried to bat away talk of links to the late billionaire.
The most famous Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre, was lured from Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach to work for the paedophile.
Photographs of celebrities including Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger and Richard Branson, and Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, were released by the US Justice Department as part of the long-awaited Epstein files
Pictured: Redacted pages from the Epstein files
But Democrats have kept the pressure on the Republican President, even turning the heads of some Trump supporters who asked why the President would not, as he had promised, release the full official investigation files.
That led to Congress imposing a deadline of Friday for their release, which in the end was only partly fulfilled.
One 119-page grand jury document that was initially blacked out entirely was last night re-released after the public outcry with minimal redactions.
The Justice Department posted on X: ‘Documents and photos will continue to be reviewed consistent with the law and with an abundance of caution for victims and their families.’
While featuring in the photos is not evidence of wrongdoing, over-zealous redaction may have risked giving the wrong impression, with a photo of the singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross and three blacked-out figures suggesting they had met Epstein victims.
In fact, the image was already publicly available and the hidden individuals were Jackson’s own children, Michael Jr and Paris, and Ross’s son, Evan.
Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would investigate over-use of redaction, adding: ‘The Trump administration is violating federal law to protect the rich and powerful.’
Republican Thomas Massie said the limited release ‘grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law’.
Responding to the removal of the photo with Mr Trump, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said: ‘What else is being covered up?’ But the White House said the administration had ordered the release of thousands of pages of documents to co-operate with Congress, adding that it had ‘done more for the victims than Democrats ever have’.
Mr Trump has not commented on the latest files.
Hanging in a wardrobe, a framed front page about Charles and Di
Jeffery Epstein’s obsession with the Royal Family can be seen in one of the more bizarre photographs from inside his home.
Inexplicably framed and hung in the back of a wardrobe was the front page of The Times from June 1994, when the then-Prince Charles told interviewer Jonathan Dimbleby that divorcing Princess Diana would not prevent him from becoming King.
The story was accompanied by a full-length photo of Diana in her so-called ‘revenge dress’ – an off-the-shoulder evening gown that has been described as the most iconic little black dress of all time, which she wore for a high-profile gala in London on the night the interview aired on ITV.
Inexplicably framed and hung in the back of a wardrobe was the front page of The Times from June 1994
The story was accompanied by a full-length photo of Diana in her so-called ‘revenge dress’ – an off-the-shoulder evening gown that has been described as the most iconic little black dress
The front page is thought to predate paedophile financier Epstein meeting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – the now former Duke of York – with the pair being introduced a few years later by socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of Andrew’s from university and Epstein’s girlfriend-turned-madam.
Documents released by the US Justice Department over the weekend include scores of photos of the inside of Epstein’s residences.
It is believed The Times’ front page, which has the headline ‘Divorce is no bar to throne says Prince’, was found by the FBI in Epstein’s ‘compound’ on his private Caribbean island of Little Saint James.
The photo shows it in the back of a wardrobe, with polo shirts hanging in front and a pair of shoes in the base.
As with all the photos released, there is no explanation of the context – something that has led to criticism from politicians and victims of Epstein.
