At least 16 Jeffrey Epstein–related files disappeared from DOJ website including Donald Trump's photo

At least 16 documents vanished from the Justice Department’s public webpage hosting materials related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph featuring U.S. President Donald Trump — within a day of being uploaded, without any explanation from authorities or prior notice to the public, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers.

In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. AP reported.

The Justice Department did not explain why the files were taken down or clarify whether their removal was deliberate, and a department spokesperson did not promptly reply to a request for comment, AP reported.

The unexplained disappearance of the files sparked online speculation about what had been removed and the lack of public notice, intensifying ongoing fascination and suspicion surrounding Epstein and the influential people connected to him.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.

Scant new insight in the initial disclosures

Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department's initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.

Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed 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 records, which were mandated for release under a recently enacted congressional law, make scant mention of several powerful figures long linked to Epstein — among them Britain’s former Prince Andrew — reviving questions about who faced scrutiny, who did not, and how much the disclosures actually contribute to public accountability.

Still, the materials contain some new details, including insight into the Justice Department’s choice to drop an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, a decision that allowed him to plead guilty to a state-level charge, as well as a previously undisclosed 1996 complaint accusing him of stealing photographs of children.

The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.

There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.

Although Congress set a Friday deadline for full public release, the Justice Department said it intends to publish the records in stages. Officials attributed the delay to the labour-intensive process of redacting survivors’ names and other identifying details, and the department has not indicated when additional records will be made available.

That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the law forced the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them, AP reported.

“I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.

Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked context

Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, 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 even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions and was no explanation given for why any of them were together.

The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007 yet never charged him.

Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.

One 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 when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.

(With inputs from AP)