The US Justice Department has ignited a political firestorm after it removed a photograph of former President Donald Trump posing with women in swimwear from a massive trove of newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents. The move, made over the weekend, has led to immediate accusations of a cover-up.
Files Released and Swiftly Redacted
On Friday, federal authorities made public approximately 300,000 pages from the Epstein investigation. However, the release was heavily criticised for its extensive redactions, with nearly 700 pages completely blacked out and faces obscured in photographs. Among the hundreds of images were photos apparently taken by the convicted paedophile financier himself, as well as evidence shots from FBI raids on his properties.
One such evidence photo showed an open desk drawer containing two pictures of Donald Trump. One, a previously unseen image, depicted the former president posing with four women in bikinis. This photo, along with more than a dozen other files, was suddenly pulled from public view days after the initial release.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the decision to remove the Trump photo, citing concerns about protecting the identities of the women pictured. He insisted there was no suggestion the women were among Epstein's victims, but stated, "We learned after releasing that photograph that there were concerns about those women... so we pulled [it] down."
A Photo Returned Amid Mounting Pressure
Following intense public and political scrutiny, the Department of Justice announced on Sunday that one of the removed photos had been returned to the archive. This image, taken in February 2000 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, shows the then-businessman with his wife Melania, Jeffrey Epstein, and Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Mr Blanche explained the department was "still investigating" the other photo and did not have "perfect information," adding, "The photo will go back up, the only question is whether there will be redactions." He vowed that if any survivors were identified in the images, their faces would be obscured.
The controversy over redactions extended beyond the Trump photos. One 119-page grand jury document, initially released entirely blacked out, was re-released with minimal redactions after a public outcry. Critics pointed to an over-zealous approach, such as a photo of Michael Jackson and Diana Ross where the hidden figures were later revealed to be their own children, not Epstein victims.
Political Fallout and Victims' Outrage
The episode has triggered a sharp partisan divide. Democrats have seized on the issue, with the House Oversight Committee asking, "What else is being covered up?" Senator Dick Durbin pledged to investigate the over-use of redaction, accusing the administration of "violating federal law to protect the rich and powerful."
Even some Republicans expressed dissatisfaction. Congressman Thomas Massie stated the limited release "grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law." The White House countered that it had ordered the release of thousands of pages and had "done more for the victims than Democrats ever have."
For the survivors of Epstein's abuse, the redactions are a painful setback. Marina Lacerda, who was abused from age 14 to 17, called the blacked-out pages a "slap in our faces," telling Sky News, "We were just in shock... there is nothing there that is transparent."
The document dump also contained bizarre insights into Epstein's world, including a photo of a framed front page of The Times from June 1994, featuring Princess Diana in her iconic 'revenge dress', inexplicably hung in the back of a wardrobe at his Caribbean island compound. The headline, "Divorce is no bar to throne says Prince," predates Epstein's known introduction to Prince Andrew.
As the Justice Department continues to review the documents, promising an "abundance of caution for victims," the political battle over transparency and the full story of Epstein's powerful network shows no sign of abating.
