A photograph showing President Donald Trump's look that was included successful the merchandise of the investigative files connected notorious enactment predator Jeffrey Epstein — on with more than a twelve different files — appears to person been removed from the Department of Justice's website.
The photo, released connected Friday on with a slew of different files, shows a table displaying a ample assortment of framed and unframed photographs and different items. Among those photographs are astatine slightest 2 that intelligibly amusement Trump's face.
Lawmakers connected Saturday were speedy to enactment that the representation was missing from the DOJ website.
"This photo, record 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has seemingly present been removed from the DOJ release," Democrats connected the House Oversight Committee said successful a post connected X. "@AGPamBondi is this true? What other is being covered up? We request transparency for the American public."
The photograph featuring Trump was among the astatine slightest 16 files that disappeared from the site, the Associated Press reported Saturday.
Friday's merchandise included lone immoderate of the immense fig of documents required to beryllium disclosed nether a deadline acceptable by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated that the DOJ divulge each the files. The DOJ continued its partial merchandise with much files tied to the probe aboriginal Saturday.
Congress is considering holding impeachment hearings astir Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche if the documents that were released don't comply with the law, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Friday.
"What we request is simply a wide timeline of erstwhile the remainder of the documents volition beryllium released and an mentation for wherefore they did not merchandise each of them today," Khanna said during a property league pursuing the files' release.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who co-sponsored the House measure with Khanna that ordered the Justice Department to merchandise the files, connected Saturday accused the DOJ of openly disregarding the law.
"Compare Language of Epstein Files Transparency Act directing DOJ to supply interior communications regarding their decisions Versus DOJ missive to Congress asserting privilege to omit materials related to decisions, due to the fact that they weren't specified by law," Massie wrote successful a station connected X.
From left, Donald Trump and his woman (and aboriginal wife), erstwhile exemplary Melania Knauss, financier (and aboriginal convicted enactment offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell airs unneurotic astatine the Mar-a-Lago nine successful Palm Beach, Florida connected Feb. 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios Photography | Archive Photos | Getty Images
While Trump is simply a erstwhile person of Epstein, the president has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has besides denied his consciousness of Epstein's intersexual maltreatment of underage girls and women.
The quality of Trump's sanction and representation was noticeably scarce successful the files made nationalist Friday. Recently, however, Trump has been shown successful a fig of images that were released by House Democrats, who obtained the photos straight from Epstein's estate.
The DOJ said successful a post connected X precocious Friday that it wasn't "redacting the names of immoderate politicians" and cited comments made by Blanche reiterating such.
"The lone redactions being applied to the documents are those required by instrumentality — afloat stop," Blanche said. "Consistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals oregon politicians unless they are a victim."
Blanche, who antecedently served arsenic a transgression defence lawyer for Trump, echoed that sentiment successful an interview with ABC News connected Friday, saying that determination has been "no effort" to redact immoderate notation of the president successful the files' release.
The White House referred questions astir the missing photograph to the DOJ.
CNBC has reached retired to the Justice Department arsenic good arsenic House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., for comment.
Former President Bill Clinton appeared successful respective photos released Friday, and it is unclear erstwhile oregon wherever they were taken. One showed Clinton sitting successful a seat adjacent to a young woman, who sat connected the chair's armrest.
The erstwhile president has besides not been accused of wrongdoing.
Clinton's spokesman, Angel Urena, on Friday said, "The White House hasn't been hiding these files for months lone to dump them precocious connected a Friday to support Bill Clinton. This is astir shielding themselves from what comes next, oregon from what they'll effort and fell forever. So they tin merchandise arsenic galore grainy 20-plus-year-old photos arsenic they privation but this isn't astir Bill Clinton."
"There are 2 types of radical here. The archetypal radical knew thing and chopped Epstein disconnected earlier his crimes came to light," Urena added. "The 2nd radical continued relationships with him after. We're successful the first. No magnitude of stalling by radical successful the 2nd radical volition alteration that. Everyone, particularly MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats."
— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
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