President Donald Trump said Monday evening that pictures of innocent people in the government’s recently released files on Jeffrey Epstein could “ruin” their reputations as the Department of Justice was slammed over its limited release of documents.
“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” Trump said. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruin the reputation of somebody.”
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who both sponsored legislation to release the files, have engaged in a pressure campaign against the DOJ for not yet sharing the full extent of the documents. Some lawmakers have accused officials of covering up for high-profile individuals affiliated with Epstein.
Nearly two dozen Epstein survivors have also spoken out against the DOJ for it’s incomplete and heavily redacted files dump.
“At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm,” the survivors wrote in a statement.
The survivors called the DOJ’s handling of the documents “alarming.”
Watch: Rep. Garcia slams Epstein files’ heavy redactions as ‘ridiculous’
Epstein survivors blast ‘unacceptable’ partial release of files as Congress members weigh legal options over DOJ’s missed deadline
The partial release of government files on Jeffrey Epstein has caused a firestorm among survivors of the late convicted sex offender’s alleged abuse and members of Congress.
One of the survivors, Sharlene Rochard, called the heavily redacted documents dump “unacceptable.”
“I’m very upset with the justice system because there’s full pages that are totally blacked out,” Rochard said on NBC News’ Here’s the Scoop Monday. “I don’t know about you, but my name is not a full page. We only asked that our names be redacted.”
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Epstein survivors blast partial release of files as Congress weighs legal options
Responding to the latest trove of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that were released last Friday, which included photos of former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Trump told reporters Monday, “I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton…I hate to see photos come out of him.”
“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyer and others. And they’ll end up, because of guys like [Rep. Thomas] Massie, who’s a real low life…” Trump continued.
Massie, who helped push for legislation to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, wrote on X in response: “Trump is blaming me for a bill he eventually signed, while defending his banker friends, Bill Clinton, and ‘innocent’ visitors to rape island,” referring to Epstein’s private island where he was accused of sex trafficking underage girls.
“Meanwhile [Attorney General Pam] Bondi is working fervently to redact, omit, and delete Epstein files she is legally required to release under our bill.”
Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat, has accused the Trump administration of a “cover-up” and called for the release of the “full, unredacted” files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
DOJ releases Epstein files with mentions of Trump and then deletes them: report
The Department of Justice released more files related to Jeffrey Epstein Monday, which mentioned President Donald Trump, and then deleted them from its website, according to a new Washington Post report.
The Washington Post said the thousands of new documents included “wide-ranging references” to Trump.
Among the documents were notes from an assistant U.S. attorney in New York about times Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane, including one trip with just Trump, Epstein and a 20-year-old woman, the publication reported.
The documents were on the DOJ’s website for several hours Monday but have since been taken down, according to The Washington Post.
Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s sex crimes.
The Independent has reached out to the DOJ and White House for comment.
Republican says partial Epstein files release was a ‘mistake’
Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said Monday the Justice Department’s partial release of its files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a “mistake.”
“If you want trust, give the full truth,” he wrote on X.
Congress suggests holding Pam Bondi in contempt over Epstein files
Members of Congress have suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi could be held in contempt for failing to release government documents on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by the December 19 deadline.
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, the Democratic and Republican lawmakers behind legislation compelling the release, “are talking about and drafting that right now,” Khanna told CBS Face the Nation Sunday.
“The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi,” Massie added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will also introduce a resolution next month to “initiate legal actions” against the Trump administration for “illegally refusing to release the full complete files” and “heavily redacting” others, his office said.
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Trump says Epstein files ‘deflect’ from his agenda while DOJ comes under fire
Watch: Trump says Epstein files are distracting from his agenda and could ‘ruin’ reputations
Democrat’s rebuttal to Trump saying the Epstein saga was ‘finished’
President Donald Trump said he thought the controversy surrounding the government’s files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “finished.”
Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said in response: “Actually Mr. President, we are just getting started.”
The Justice Department only released some, heavily redacted, documents by the December 19 deadline.
Jess Michaels, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse, has accused the Department of Justice of being “sloppy and inconsistent and thoughtless” in it’s release of documents relating to the late convicted sex offender.
“What we are seeing is just an incredibly sloppy and inconsistent and thoughtless process that is then done to try to redact names or leaving things haphazardly unredacted,” Michaels told CNN.
Epstein survivors say multiple survivors’ identities have been revealed in the files, despite the DOJ being allowed to withhold those names.
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