NEW YORK — At least 16 files vanished from the Justice Department’s public webpage hosting documents related to Jeffrey Epstein less than a day after they appeared online — including an image that contained a photograph of President Donald Trump — with no notice to the public and no explanation from the government.
The missing items were accessible on Friday but could not be opened by Saturday. They included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one photo showing a series of photographs arranged along a credenza and stored in drawers. In that image, a photograph of Trump appeared inside a drawer among other photos, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump, and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
When asked Saturday why the files had disappeared, the Justice Department did not respond directly. In a post on X, it said “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”
The unexplained removal quickly sparked speculation online about what was taken down and why the public wasn’t alerted — adding fresh fuel to long-running public fascination with Epstein and the prominent figures linked to him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee highlighted the missing image featuring the Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
A release that raised questions before the takedowns
The episode sharpened concerns already surrounding the Justice Department’s highly anticipated document release. While tens of thousands of pages have been made public, the materials have offered little new detail about Epstein’s crimes or the decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years.
Several of the most closely watched categories of records were not included in the initial disclosures, such as FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — documents that could help explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was permitted in 2008 to plead guilty to a comparatively minor, state-level prostitution charge.
The omissions extend further. The disclosures — required under a recently passed law — contain scant mention of several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who faced scrutiny, who did not, and how much accountability the release ultimately delivers.
What the documents do include so far
Among the new material are details about the Justice Department’s decision to drop an Epstein investigation in the 2000s, a choice that paved the way for his state–level plea deal, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.
Much of what has been released so far consists of images of Epstein’s properties in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with photos that include celebrities and politicians. There is also a set of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but relatively few featuring Trump. Both men have been associated with Epstein in the past and later publicly distanced themselves. Neither has been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein, and there has been no indication the photos were tied to the criminal cases brought against him.
Although Congress set a Friday deadline for the full public release, the Justice Department said it will publish records on a rolling basis, citing the time required to redact survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not announced when additional batches will be posted.
That approach has angered some accusers and lawmakers who pushed for the law, arguing that the release should have provided a complete picture rather than the beginning of an open-ended wait.
“I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein began s**** abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.
Redactions, missing context, and a massive trove behind the scenes
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with s** trafficking in 2019, but he died by suicide in jail after his arrest.
The newly released documents represent only a fraction of what the government holds. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from s** trafficking investigations involving Epstein and Maxwell, though he noted that many duplicate material already provided by the FBI.
Many of the released records have previously surfaced through court filings, congressional releases, or public-records requests — but for the first time, they were centralized online and searchable for free.
Documents that appear to be new often arrive heavily redacted or stripped of context. One 119-page file labeled “Grand Jury-NY,” believed to come from a federal s** trafficking investigation that led to charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was completely blacked out.
Some of Trump’s Republican allies have focused on Clinton-related images, including photos showing the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Other photos show Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and with television journalist Walter Cronkite. None of the images included captions, and no explanation was provided for why the people photographed were together.
Grand jury testimony and Acosta’s account
Some of the most substantial material released so far suggests federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007 yet did not bring federal charges.
Grand jury transcripts made public for the first time include testimony from FBI agents who described interviews with several girls and young women who said they were paid to perform s** acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.
One witness described being s***** assaulted after resisting Epstein’s advances during a massage. Another, who was 21 at the time of her testimony, described being hired at 16 to provide a “s**** massage” and later recruiting other girls.
“For every girl that I brought to the table he would give me $200,” she said. She testified that many recruits were people she knew from high school and that she told them, “I also told them that if they are under age, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”
The documents also include a transcript of a Justice Department interview conducted more than a decade later with Alexander Acosta, the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case and ultimately chose not to pursue federal charges. Acosta, who later served as labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited doubts about how a jury might view Epstein’s accusers. He also described the difficulty of prosecuting conduct that he said sat in a gray area between s** trafficking and soliciting prostitution — a category he suggested was more commonly handled at the state level.
“I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added, saying public attitudes toward survivors have changed. “There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” he said.
Jennifer Freeman, an attorney representing Epstein accuser Maria Farmer and other survivors, said Saturday that Farmer feels vindicated by the document release. Farmer has long sought records supporting her claim that Epstein and Maxwell possessed child s**** abuse images.
“It’s a triumph and a tragedy,” Freeman said. “It looks like the government did absolutely nothing. Horrible things have happened and if they investigated in even the smallest way, they could have stopped him.”
