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U.S. Justice Department officials on Sunday denied allegations that heavily censored documents related to Jeffrey Epstein were redacted to protect President Donald Trump, as victims and lawmakers from both parties demanded fuller disclosure of the controversial materials.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, rejected claims that political considerations influenced the decision to black out large portions of records released Friday from cases against the late financier and sex offender. The release included hundreds of pages with significant portions censored and photographs obscured, prompting immediate backlash.
"Absolutely, positively not," Blanche said when asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" whether any material was withheld due to political sensitivities, which would violate federal law.
The deputy attorney general specifically addressed the removal of an image showing several group photographs, including at least one featuring Trump. Blanche said the decision stemmed from concerns about women depicted in the photos rather than the president's presence.
"There were concerns about those women and the fact that we had put that photo up," he told NBC. "So we pulled that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump."
The explanation failed to satisfy critics on either side of the aisle. Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin accused Trump of defying a law ordering complete release of all Epstein-related files.
"It's all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn't want to go public, either about himself (or) other members of his family, friends," Raskin said on CNN's "State the Union."
Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in pressing for fuller disclosure. Congressman Thomas Massie, who has advocated for complete release of the files, told CBS's "Face the Nation" that officials were flouting both the spirit and letter of the law.
"I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied," Massie said, charging that a 60-count indictment implicating well-known figures was not released. "It's about the selective concealment."
Senator Rand Paul, a frequent Trump critic within the Republican Party, warned on ABC's "This Week" that unrevealed material would continue to haunt the administration for months.
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said the initial document release appeared inadequate and noted that justice officials must provide Congress with written explanations within 15 days for any withheld documents.
Friday's document tranche included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and celebrities including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. At least one file contained dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures, while previously unseen photographs showed disgraced former prince Andrew lying across the legs of five women.
Other images depicted Clinton lounging in a hot tub with part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice. Maxwell, the financier's former girlfriend, is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls and remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein, regularly attending parties together, but cut ties years before Epstein's arrest. The president faces no accusations of wrongdoing related to the case. He initially attempted to block disclosure of the files before bowing to mounting pressure from Congress, including members of his own party, and signing legislation compelling publication.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
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