The Justice Department on Sunday restored photos online from Jeffrey Epstein’s file, including an image of President Donald Trump, after backlash over its deletion.
The image, which included two separate photos of President Trump, was removed from public view by the Justice Department after it was published on its website on Friday. The images showed a series of items on and inside Epstein’s desk and certificates.
One photo showed Trump with a group of women, and the other was a famous photo of Trump with his wife Melania, Epstein, and Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The Southern District of New York has issued a warning over the image of President Trump, with the possibility of further action to protect victims,” the Justice Department said in a post on social media site X.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further investigation. After investigation, it was determined that there was no evidence that Epstein’s victims were in the photo, and it was reposted without any changes or edits.”
The Justice Department did not say what that meant for the Southern District of New York. SDNY can refer to both the federal judicial district that includes Manhattan, New York, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for that district, which prosecutes federal criminal cases.
On Saturday, Congressional Democrats questioned the photo’s removal.
“This photo of File 468 of the Epstein file, which includes Donald Trump, has apparently been removed from the Department of Justice public release,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a post on X. “@AGPamBondi, is this true? What else is being hidden? We need transparency from the American people.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said early Sunday that the image was removed from the website after learning there were concerns about the woman in the photo. “Therefore, we have removed that photo.”
“I have nothing to do with President Trump,” Branch told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The disappearance of the files came despite President Trump signing a law requiring government agencies to release all so-called Epstein files by Friday.
The image was published on the Department of Justice’s website on Friday and disappeared from the webpage a few hours later. It featured a collection of framed and unframed photos of President Trump as well as other celebrities such as former President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II.
“If we are contacted by victims’ rights groups about this type of photo, we will take it down and investigate it,” Blanche said.
Earlier this month, SDNY Judge Richard Berman ordered the release of grand jury materials related to the 2019 Justice Department indictment of Epstein on child sex trafficking charges.
The order included a provision for the Justice Department to address survivors’ concerns about the contents of the file.
The Justice Department released only some documents and images from the Epstein case on Friday, even though the new Epstein File Transparency Act requires all Justice Department files related to him and Maxwell to be released by that date.
The Justice Department’s failure to release all documents by that deadline drew harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Additionally, several of Epstein’s victims criticized the Justice Department for not informing them of the nature of Friday’s release. Some survivors said the measures could put them at risk, according to reports.
Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican, Kentucky. — He co-sponsored a House bill with California Democrat Ro Khanna that would have ordered the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, and threatened to hold Justice Department officials accountable for how the release of the files was handled.
Massey said in an interview Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that some members of Congress are considering holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt.
“The quickest way and the quickest way to bring justice to these victims is to bring essential contempt to Pam Bondi,” Massey said.
