Yesterday, Saturday, no fewer than 16 files disappeared from the public website of the U.S. Department of Justice related to Jeffrey Epstein, including a photo showing President Donald Trump, less than a day after it was posted, without any governmental explanation or public notification.
The missing files were available the day before, on Friday, but were no longer accessible by Saturday. The files included images of paintings depicting nude women, and another photo showing a series of photographs placed on a side cabinet and inside drawers. In that photo, and inside one of the drawers among other pictures, appeared a photo showing Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime close associate.
The Department of Justice did not respond to inquiries on Saturday about why the files disappeared, but stated in a post on the X platform that "the images and other materials will undergo continuous review and revision, in accordance with the law, with extreme caution as we receive additional information."
Online, the disappearance of the files sparked a wave of speculation about what was removed, and why the public was not notified about it, increasing the long-standing mystery and questions surrounding Epstein and the influential figures associated with him.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee referred to the missing photo showing Trump in a post on X, saying: "What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American people."
This incident has deepened already existing concerns about the long-awaited release of documents from the Department of Justice.
The thousands of pages that were published provided little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the court decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while some of the most anticipated materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Department of Justice memos on charging decisions, were deleted.
