The U.S. Justice Department restored within a day a photo of President Donald Trump that it had deleted from investigation files related to billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On the 21st, the department reposted the photo on the social media platform X and explained that it was a temporary review measure to protect victims. The decision came immediately after Congress, which raised suspicions of political cover-up, and public opinion mounted strong criticism.
The previous day, the department said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York had classified a photo that included President Trump as subject to review out of concern it could expose victims. However, it said that upon review, no evidence was found that victims of the Epstein case were included in the photo, so it reposted it without changes. In one of the photos that sparked controversy, there is an image showing President Trump, first lady Melania, and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell together, placed on top of Epstein's furnishings.
U.S. politicians across party lines criticized the deletion. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the Epstein File Transparency Act, told CBS that the administration is ignoring a sacred law. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of the Democratic Party said in an ABC interview that the document release was improper and did not meet what the law requires.
By contrast, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department's No. 2, appeared on NBC and flatly denied allegations of political interference. Deputy Attorney General Blanche said claims that the photo was taken down because of the president were absurd, and that it is standard procedure to review and, if necessary, remove photos upon requests from victim rights groups. Blanche added that all information about President Trump would be disclosed without redactions.
There was also criticism of the department's poor management. Gloria Allred, an attorney for victims, told CNN that the department failed to protect those involved, including exposing victim statements, and pointed out that some photos included images of women without clothing.
The Justice Department is currently reviewing about 1 million pages of investigative records. Jeffrey Epstein was indicted on charges of sexually exploiting minors and died by suicide in custody in 2019. Congress passed a bill last month requiring the department to release all materials related to Epstein in its possession. The department plans to release the remaining documents in stages over the next few weeks.