Epstein files live: Democrats claim DOJ cut Trump photo from thousands of documents

The Justice Department released a new batch of Epstein files on Saturday, including grand jury documents from past cases against the late sex offender and his living associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In one document, an FBI agent testified that an Epstein victim said Maxwell acted “like a cool older sister and made comments like this is what grownups do” when trying to convince girls to perform various acts.

The agent recounted hearing from an individual that Maxwell encouraged her to wear a schoolgirl outfit while serving Epstein tea, an encounter in which the late financier reached under the woman’s skirt and touched her sexually.

A schoolgirl outfit was later recovered from Epstein’s mansion, the agent said.

The Department of Justice is ignoring clear provisions in a bill signed last month requiring it to release all unclassified Epstein files, including those from within the FBI, DOJ, and federal prosecutors’ records, according to one of the representatives who led the Epstein push in Congress.

“THEY ARE FLAUNTING LAW,” Rep. Thomas Massie wrote in a post on X, comparing side-by-side images of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the DOJ’s letter to Congress describing certain materials it said it would withold, such as those touching on attorney-client privilege and files on DOJ work-product.

The Justice Department may have removed more than a dozen files from the Epstein materials released online yesterday, an NPR review found.

The removed files reportedly included an image of a desk drawer filled with photos, including two that appeared to show Donald Trump, as well as separate files showing images various works of art, including those containing nudity.

At least 16 files were removed, a separate Associated Press review found.

Democrats in Congress have said they will investigate the missing Trump photo, suggesting it might be part of a larger cover-up.

The government has begun the process of releasing the remainder of the Epstein files, but critics accuse the Trump administration of hiding just as much as it is revealing through extensive redactions.

“Most transparent admin in history?” Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, wrote on X, along with a photo of a full page of blacked-out text. “These redactions are an absolute mockery of the survivors of Epstein’s abuse and the American people.”

Survivors of Epstein’s abuses have also pushed for more transparency.

“I knew going into this and just how Trump likes to play his little tactics,” Haley Robson, an Epstein survivor who voted for Trump but has come to regret it, told The Independent. “I knew with all the obstacles we’ve already rendered and the administration’s flip flop, I already knew that we were not going to see the files as we should be getting them.”

The DOJ insists the redactions are legal and necessary to protect victims.

Follow our coverage for more on this brewing controversy.

Democrats have accused the Justice Department of removing a document from Friday’s Epstein files release that appeared to show Donald Trump in a photograph with a scantily-clad woman.

“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote on X Saturday. “[Attorney General Pam Bondi] is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

The file shows a photo of a desk drawer full of photo albums and documents. Among them is a photograph of a man who appears to be Donald Trump, dressed in a white shirt, standing with a group of women, including at least one who looks to be wearing a bikini. Behind the photo is a partially obscured photo where the faces of Trump, Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen.

This photo appears to be one that has been widely circulated featuring the Trumps, before they were married, Epstein, and Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.

“The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Independent. “By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”

A Trump administration official referred further questions to the Department of Justice, which has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Independent.

Many of the photos in the Epstein files released Friday are without dates and lacking in context. Inclusion in the Epstein files does not suggest wrongdoing.

Critics accuse the administration of failing to fully release the files it agreed to under a law signed last month.

The DOJ says it is focusing on protecting the privacy of victims and that further releases are forthcoming over the next few weeks.

Amid ongoing outrage that the Trump administration hasn’t fully released the Epstein files it agreed to share with the public, Rep. Thomas Massie has resurface an old X post from JD Vance where the vice president, then an author, pushed for more transparency.

“I miss this version of JD Vance,” Massie wrote, linking to a 2021 message from Vance.

“What possible interest would the US government have in keeping Epstein’s clients secret?” Vance wrote in the original post, which was in reaction to the government’s negotiations with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Members of Congress and Epstein survivors alike have pushed the administration to release more, alleging the heavily redacted tranche of documents shared Friday doesn’t fully comply with a November law mandating the release.

The Trump administration is continuing to shield powerful people who are tied to the Epstein sex trafficking ring, according to California congressman Ro Khanna.

In an X post on Saturday, the Democrat railed against the DOJ, highlighting how a file from the newly released Epstein documents showed the FBI was warned by ex-Epstein employee Maria Farmer he might be a predator as early as 1996, a full decade before it began an investigation into the financier.

“The reality is that our nation could have prevented the abuse of many of the 1200 plus survivors, but Epstein was connected to enough powerful & rich men to block law enforcement from acting,” Khanna wrote. “For three decades, powerful people have accused Maria of lying about filing that complaint.”

“The survivors, like Maria, are telling the truth,” he added. “This country has betrayed and abandoned them for decades. The DOJ still is covering up for prominent men who abused or raped young girls or were at parties where these young girls were being paraded & abused.”

“I’ve waited 30 years,” Maria Farmer told The New York Times after the Justice Department released files Friday. Among the documents was Farmer’s report to the bureau, which is thought to be the first time someone reported Epstein to law enforcement.

“I can’t believe it,” Farmer added. “They can’t call me a liar anymore.”

The FBI has never publicly acknowledged the report.

More details in our full story.