DOJ Appears to Remove Trump Photo From Epstein Files After Release, Fueling Claims of a Cover-Up
The Department of Justice is facing fresh scrutiny after a photograph containing images of Donald Trump appears to have been quietly removed from the Epstein files released to the public on Friday.
Among the thousands of documents published as part of the DOJ’s Epstein release was a photograph showing a desk with an open drawer. Inside the drawer were multiple photos of Trump, including one depicting him with young women and another showing Trump alongside his wife, Melania Trump.
By Saturday morning, the image—catalogued in the DOJ’s database as “EFTA00000468”—was no longer accessible through the department’s official Epstein library. The archive appeared to skip directly from “EFTA00000467” to “EFTA00000469,” strongly suggesting the Trump-related image had been removed.
Despite its disappearance from the DOJ’s website, the photo remains available in open-source, third-party archives that preserved the full library shortly after the documents were initially released Friday afternoon.
The missing image has intensified concerns over inconsistencies in the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, which span more than two decades of investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual abuse of young women and underage girls.
Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, was a longtime associate of Trump. While Trump has acknowledged their past friendship, he has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking crimes and has said they fell out in the mid-2000s.
At the same time, Trump, his former attorneys now serving in the Justice Department, and allies in Congress have repeatedly sought to limit or delay the public release of Epstein-related records. Emails released last month by the House Oversight Committee indicated that Epstein himself believed Trump was aware of his abusive behavior.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former Trump defense attorney, was required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act to release all DOJ Epstein materials by Friday’s deadline. That requirement was not fully met.
Before the deadline, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, another former Trump attorney, said the department would release only a portion of the documents, citing the need for additional redactions to protect victims—despite the fact that the law had already granted the DOJ 30 days for review and redaction, and the FBI had reportedly begun that process months earlier.
The documents that were released were heavily redacted. Critics also noted that senior DOJ and White House officials appeared to emphasize references to Bill Clinton in the initial disclosure, drawing attention away from Trump-related material.
Responding on social media Friday night, Clinton aide Angel Ureña accused the DOJ of attempting to deflect scrutiny. He said the release was about “shielding themselves from what comes next,” adding that Clinton cut off Epstein before his crimes became public.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act—Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie—condemned Bondi for withholding documents beyond the deadline. In a video statement, Khanna said he and Massie were actively exploring impeachment proceedings against DOJ officials responsible for the incomplete release.
As questions mount over missing files and removed images, pressure is building on the Justice Department to explain whether material involving the sitting president was deliberately withheld—and whether further disclosures are still being concealed from the public.
