DOJ Reposts Image of Trump That Was Removed from Epstein Files — ‘Without Any Alteration or Redaction’

DOJ Screenshot

The Department of Justice on Sunday has reposted a photo to its Epstein files webpage following outrage that it and about 15 other files had been removed after Friday’s initial release.

The photo in question showed a desk with a drawer open containing photos of Donald Trump.

NBC News’s Kristen Welker asked Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday’s Meet The Press why that photo and other files were taken down.

“You can see in that photo, there’s photographs of women,” Blanche said. “And so we learned after releasing that photograph that there were concerns about those women and the fact that we had put that photo up. So we pulled that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump. There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr. Epstein. He has said that in the ’90s and early 2000s he socialized with him. So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable.”

A few hours later, the DOJ posted to social media that it had returned that photo to the “Epstein Library.”

“The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims,” the post explained.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review. After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the post concluded.

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) have indicated that they’re considering filing articles of impeachment against AG Pam Bondi for missing the Friday deadline to release all of the files.

Welker asked Blanche if he could guarantee “that every mention and every photo of President Trump in the Epstein files will be released.”

“Yes,” Blanche said. “I mean, I’ve said it three, four times now, we’ve said it before, and President Trump has said it repeatedly, since before he was elected, and since he was elected, all summer long, he said the same thing. ‘I have nothing to hide.’ And so, of course, that’s the case. But let me just make sure everybody understands something. To the extent that he is, quote, in the Epstein files, it’s not because he had anything to do with the horrific crimes. Full stop.”

Trump was good friends with Epstein, but denies having anything to do with his sex trafficking ring.