The Justice Department’s decision to remove more than a dozen photos on Saturday that were released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday “has nothing to do with the president,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday. [Donald] Trump” and came at the request of victims’ advocacy groups.
Instead, Blanche said the removed photos included unretouched photos of women and “the photo will resurface” after Justice Department officials investigate whether they need to make further redactions.
NBC News confirmed on Saturday that 15 images that appeared as part of the release of the Epstein files on Friday had been removed from the Justice Department’s website on Saturday.
One file included a photo of a table top covered with framed photos of Jeffrey Epstein with famous people. There was an open drawer on the countertop containing printed photos of Trump with women in swimsuits.
“We don’t have complete information,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “So, when we hear from victims’ rights groups about this type of photo, we pull it back and investigate it. We’re still investigating that photo. The photo will come back up, the only question is whether there will be redactions to the photo.”
Blanche also on Sunday answered questions about criticism he and other Justice Department officials face from Democrats for not releasing the full Epstein files on Friday. Friday was the deadline for the release of the document outlined in the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by both chambers of Congress last month.
The deputy district attorney said the delay was due to the time it takes to erase photos and names of Epstein’s victims from the files.
“The reason we are continuing to review documents and continuing our process is simply to protect the victims,” Blanche told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.
“We go through a very systematic process where hundreds of attorneys go through every single document and make sure that the names of the victims and any information from the victims are protected and redacted, which is exactly what [Epstein Files] He added: “The transparency law is expected.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who along with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., led efforts in Congress to pass legislation directing the release of those documents, said Friday that the release was “disappointing” and called on Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche to explain the full timeline for releasing the Epstein files.
“I have to say the release was disappointing from the initial reading of it,” Khanna told reporters on Friday, adding, “What I am calling for, in terms of a constructive next step, is for Todd Blanche or Pam Bondi to come before the country, share the full release schedule, share explanations for the revisions, and let the country know what they can expect.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Saturday criticized the Justice Department for violating a law passed by Congress by not releasing all the documents on Friday.
Democrats “will investigate this violation of the law and make sure the American people are aware of it,” Durbin said.
Many Republicans also criticized the Justice Department’s decision to recover several documents, with Massie in a post on X Sunday calling for the move, “Government lies“.
Blanche on Sunday criticized critics of the Justice Department’s actions as “the same individuals who don’t seem to want us to protect victims.”
The deputy public prosecutor later added: “If they have a problem with me protecting victims, they know how to contact me, but we won’t stop doing that.”
Several lawmakers over the weekend criticized Republicans and the Trump administration for releasing the Epstein files slowly over time rather than all at once on Friday, questioning whether Justice Department officials were trying to hide something.
“It’s clear what Republicans in the White House, in the Justice Department and their desperate cronies in Congress are doing. The right is colluding with the far right. What they are hiding is not clear. But it must not be good,” said Angel Urena, a spokesman for former President Bill Clinton. books In a post dated X Saturday.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee also noted the removal of the photo Epstein took on the table. writing In a post on
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, also criticized the slow release of the files, writing Share on X Friday that the move was “not MAGA.”
Blanche on Sunday categorically denied that the Justice Department was covering up anything related to the president.
“I have no reason to believe that the lawyers who were working on this case were talking about President Trump, because he had nothing to do with the Epstein files. He had nothing to do with the horrific crimes that Mr. Epstein committed,” he said.
“We do not redact information about President Trump, or any other individual involved with Mr. Epstein, and this narrative, which is not based on facts at all, is completely false,” Blanche added.