Photo from the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department shows photos with salient radical including a Pope, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. Image was redacted by CNBC.
U.S. Department of Justice
The Department of Justice connected Sunday restored online a photo from the Jeffrey Epstein files that contained images showing President Donald Trump aft backlash implicit its removal.
The image, which contained 2 abstracted photos showing Trump, had been removed by the DOJ from nationalist presumption aft being published connected the department's website connected Friday. The representation showed an array of items connected and successful Epstein's table oregon credenza.
One of the photos showed Trump with a radical of women, portion the different was a well-known representation showing him with his wife, Melania, Epstein, and Epstein's now-convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
"The Southern District of New York flagged an representation of President Trump for imaginable further enactment to support victims," the DOJ said successful a station connected the societal media tract X.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the representation for further review. After the review, it was determined determination is nary grounds that immoderate Epstein victims are depicted successful the photograph, and it has been reposted without immoderate alteration oregon redaction."
The DOJ did not accidental what it meant by the Southern District of New York. The SDNY tin notation some to the national judicial territory that includes Manhattan, New York, and the U.S. Attorney's Office successful that district, which prosecutes national transgression cases.
On Saturday, legislature Democrats questioned the removal of the photo.
"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 station connected X. "@AGPamBondi is this true? What other is being covered up? We request transparency for the American public."
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche aboriginal Sunday said the representation was removed from the website aft learning determination were concerns astir women successful the photo, "so we pulled that photograph down."
"It has thing to bash with President Trump," said Blanche connected NBC's "Meet the Press.
The disappearance of the files came contempt a instrumentality signed by Trump that required the bureau to marque nationalist each of the alleged Epstein files by Friday.
The representation went unrecorded connected the DOJ's website connected Friday, and disappeared from the webpage respective hours later. The photograph showed a postulation of framed and unframed photos that included Trump and different high-profile figures specified arsenic erstwhile President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II.
"When we perceive from victims' rights groups astir this benignant of photograph, we propulsion it down and investigate," Blanche said.
Earlier this month, SDNY Judge Richard Berman ordered the unsealing of expansive assemblage materials related to the DOJ's prosecution of Epstein successful 2019 connected kid enactment trafficking charges.
That bid included a proviso that the DOJ code survivors' concerns astir the contented of the files.
The DOJ connected Friday released conscionable a fraction of documents and images from the Epstein case, adjacent though the caller Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated that each DOJ files related to him and Maxwell beryllium released by that date.
The DOJ's nonaccomplishment to merchandise each worldly by that deadline drew crisp disapproval from Democrats and Republicans alike.
In addition, respective Epstein victims criticized the DOJ for allegedly not keeping them informed astir the contents of Friday's merchandise — a determination immoderate survivors said could person enactment them successful danger, according to respective quality reports.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — who with Ro Khanna, D-Calif., co-sponsored the House measure that ordered the DOJ to merchandise the Epstein files — has threatened to clasp Justice Department officials accountable for however the files' merchandise has been handled.
In an interrogation Sunday connected CBS' "Face the Nation," Massie said immoderate legislature lawmakers are considering holding Attorney General Pam Bondi successful contempt.
"The quickest way, and I deliberation astir expeditious way, to get justness for these victims, is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi," Massie said.
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