At least 16 images disappear from Trump administration page with documents about the Epstein case

US court releases documents from the Epstein case At least 16 files disappeared from the United States government’s Department of Justice page with documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, less than a day after being published, without any official explanation or notice to the public. The missing files, available on Friday and no longer accessible on Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one that showed a series of photographs along a sideboard and in drawers. This last image shows, inside a drawer among other photos, a photograph of President Donald Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. 📱Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free Photo of the Jeffrey Epstein case that disappeared from the American government page with files about the investigation. Image includes a photo with Donald Trump @Oversight Dems/Reproduction READ MORE: Rich and famous, Bill Clinton exposed: what’s in Epstein’s new files Brazilian woman abused by Epstein criticizes censorship in photos from released files The Justice Department did not respond to questions on Saturday about why the files were missing, but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue to be reviewed and edited in accordance with the law, out of an abundance of caution, as we receive additional information.” Online, the unexplained disappearance of the files fueled speculation about what was removed and why the public was not notified, adding to the mystery surrounding Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee took issue with the missing image featuring a photo of Trump in an X post: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American people.” The episode deepened concerns arising from the long-awaited release of Justice Department documents. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new information about Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most highly anticipated materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos about charging decisions. Images from the Jeffrey Epstein case include a painting showing former US President Bill Clinton in a blue dress and photos of Clinton himself standing next to Epstein, of a woman and posing together with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Key documents left out Some of the most important records expected about Epstein appear nowhere in the Justice Department’s initial release, which spans tens of thousands of pages. The publication of the records was determined by a law recently approved by the US Congress. But missing, for example, are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos analyzing charging decisions. The records could have helped explain investigators’ view of the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge. The gaps go further. The documents barely mention several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, and raise questions about who was investigated, who wasn’t, and how much the disclosures actually promote public accountability. Among the new developments are information about the Justice Department’s decision to drop an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which allowed him to plead guilty to the state prostitution charge, and a previously unreleased 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children. The releases so far have been rich in images of Epstein’s homes in New York and the US Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians. There were a number of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but very few of Trump. Both were associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein House Oversight Committee/Disclosure Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and there was no indication that the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him. Despite a deadline set by Congress for all documents to be made public on Friday, the Justice Department said it plans to release the records on an ongoing basis. The institution attributed the delay to the time-consuming process of withholding survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department did not provide any information about when more records might arrive. That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the law that forced the department to act. Rather than marking the end of a years-long battle for transparency, Friday’s release of documents was just the beginning of an indefinite wait for a full picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them. “I feel that, once again, the Department of Justice is letting us down,” said Marina Lacerda, a Brazilian who reported having been sexually abused by Epstein since she was 14 years old. Photo of Bill Clinton in bathtub among Epstein case files Edited or context-free records Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he committed suicide in prison after being arrested. The newly released documents are a small fraction of potentially millions of pages of records in the department’s possession. As an example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from the Epstein and Maxwell sex trafficking investigations, although some of it was the same as material already turned over by the FBI. Photos show Epstein alongside Michael Jackson and having dinner with Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger US Department of Justice Many of the records released so far had already been made public in court filings, congressional publications or in other ways. For the first time, however, they were released in one place and made available for free research by the public. New records often lack the necessary context or are censored with black stripes. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein or Maxwell, has been completely censored. Republican allies of Trump exploited images of Bill Clinton, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey and TV host Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions and no explanation was given about the context of the meeting between the billionaire and the people. The most substantial records released so far show that federal prosecutors apparently had a solid investigation into Epstein as early as 2007 but never charged him. Transcripts of the grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews conducted with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sexual acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 years old and in ninth grade. One of them had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage. Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her at age 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she went on to recruit other girls to do the same. “For every girl I brought, he gave me $200,” she said, adding that the victims were mostly people she knew from high school. “I also told them that if they were underage, just lie about it and tell him they were 18.” The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers conducted more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges. Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers. He also said the Justice Department may have been reluctant to turn into a federal prosecution a case that was on the legal border between sex trafficking and solicitation of prostitution, something typically handled by state prosecutors. “I’m not saying that was the correct view,” Acosta added. He also said that today’s audience would probably see things differently. “There have been a lot of changes in victim blaming,” Acosta said. Jennifer Freeman, a lawyer representing Epstein accuser Maria Farmer and other survivors, said Saturday that her client feels vindicated following the release of the documents. Farmer searched for years for documents to prove his claim that Epstein and Maxwell possessed images of child sexual abuse. “It’s a triumph and a tragedy,” she said. “It appears the government did absolutely nothing. Horrible things happened, and if they had even investigated at all, they could have stopped him.”

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