At least 16 documents disappeared from the justice department’s public webpage less than a day after being posted, including a photograph showing Donald Trump in materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Associated Press.
The files, available on Friday but gone by Saturday, included images of paintings of nude women and a photo showing pictures stored along a credenza and inside drawers, one of which depicted Trump with Epstein, Melania Trump, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The justice department offered no explanation for the removals and gave no advance notice to the public. Democratic representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania criticised the Trump administration’s claims of transparency, highlighting the heavily redacted documents as an insult to Epstein’s survivors and the public.
Lee said the DOJ remains legally obligated under subpoena to provide the Oversight Committee with full, unredacted files and argued that the alleged cover-up must end. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also condemned the handling of the release, suggesting the removal of the photo could represent one of the largest cover-ups in American history.
While Trump’s name appears in some documents, the extensive redactions have fueled bipartisan calls for transparency, including criticism from Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who denounced the redactions and missed deadline as unacceptable.
A massage room at one of Epstein’s homes. US Department of Justice
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