California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked controversy by mocking President Donald Trump over the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files release. In a Christmas Eve post on X, Newsom shared a video highlighting heavy redactions in the documents, interspersed with footage of Trump with Epstein in the early 1990s.
The 20-second clip, set to Mumford & Sons' 'White Blank Page', shows pages of redacted text and a grainy image of Trump inside Epstein's desk. The image was initially published by the Justice Department on December 19 but was removed the next day 'out of an abundance of caution' before being reposted. Critics have speculated that the department is withholding evidence of Trump's connections to Epstein.
Newsom's video also includes an internal email from January 2020, where an assistant U.S. attorney noted that flight records showed Trump flew on Epstein's jet 'many more times than previously reported'. This appears to contradict Trump's 2024 claim on Truth Social that he 'was never on Epstein's Plane'. The president is not accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's crimes.
Just 30 minutes after Newsom's post, the Justice Department admitted to uncovering over a million more documents 'potentially' tied to the Epstein case, which may take weeks to release. The department stated that lawyers are working 'around the clock' to make legally required redactions to protect victims.
The Trump administration faces backlash over the partial release of files by the December 19 deadline. Approximately 750,000 documents have been reviewed and released by a team of 200 people. An 'emergency request' was sent to career prosecutors in Florida to assist with redactions over the Christmas holiday. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie have suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi could be held in contempt for failing to meet the deadline.
