Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department briefly removed a photograph of President Donald Trump from its public Jeffrey Epstein files over victim-protection concerns—even though the agency does not believe the image actually shows any victims.
Less than a day after the DOJ posted a batch of Epstein-related documents on Friday, at least 16 items disappeared from the public web page. One of the removed items was file 468, an image of a drawer filled with photographs. Among the pictures was one showing Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump, and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Another image in the drawer showed Trump surrounded by women.
Speaking Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Blanche said the department pulled the photo after realizing it included women and hearing concerns related to victim protections.
“We learned” after it was released that “there were women in it,” Blanche said, adding there were “concerns about those women, and the fact that we had put that photo up, so we pulled that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Donald Trump.”
Blanche pointed to the DOJ’s responsibilities under a New York judge’s order and federal law that restricts releasing material that could identify survivors of Epstein’s crimes.
He said the department responds to alerts from victims and advocates, even when the DOJ itself does not have complete information at the time of release.
“Anybody, any victim, any victim’s lawyers, any victim rights group can reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, Department of Justice, there’s a document, there’s a photo, there’s something within the Epstein files that identifies me.’ And we will then of course pull that off and investigate it.”
Host Kristen Welker pressed Blanche on whether the women in the image were actually victims or survivors.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Blanche replied. “If we believed that photograph contained a survivor, we wouldn’t have put it up in the first place without redacting the faces. But notwithstanding what we believe, we don’t have perfect information. And so when we hear from victims’ rights groups about this type of photograph, we pull it down and investigate. We’re still investigating that photo. The photo will go back up. And the only question is whether there will be redactions on the photo.”
Later Sunday, the DOJ said it had removed the image temporarily for additional review “out of an abundance of caution.”
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the department said on X.
The initial takedown drew sharp online criticism, with Democrats on the House Oversight Committee repeatedly alleging a White House “cover-up” on Saturday.
Blanche dismissed claims of political interference as “laughable,” arguing that photos of Trump with Epstein have been public for years. He also noted that Trump has acknowledged socializing with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Blanche said the department would not redact or withhold Trump-related material except where legally required, and he repeatedly asserted that every mention and photograph of the president contained in the Epstein files will be released.
He also said Trump has pushed for disclosure since before taking office and has “nothing to hide,” rejecting accusations that the DOJ is shielding him. Blanche maintained that the department’s review process applies to all names in the files and is guided by victim-protection obligations and other legal limits—not politics.
The DOJ has said it will continue releasing Epstein-related records on a rolling basis, citing the time needed to review documents for potential redactions.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, criticized the pace of disclosure on CNN Saturday evening.
“There are 300 gigabytes of files, according to [FBI Director] Kash Patel; they released 2.5 of them,” Khanna said, calling it less than 1% of the material.
The act required the department to release all unclassified Epstein-related records by Friday and narrowed the permissible reasons for withholding or redaction.
Massie said Sunday that the most “expeditious way to get justice for these victims” would be to pursue inherent contempt charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi. He argued the initial release did not meet the statute’s requirements and warned DOJ officials could face consequences—including impeachment—if the department is found to be obstructing compliance.
Blanche rejected that criticism on NBC, saying the DOJ is “doing everything we’re supposed to be doing” under the law and emphasizing that victim protection must take priority over rigid deadlines. He added that the department gathered more material than the law required and is continuing its review.
Blanche also said the DOJ is “not prepared” to bring additional charges against anyone based on what has been reviewed so far.
“We learned the names of additional victims as recently as Wednesday of this week—there’s new names that we didn’t have before—that we ran across our database to understand whether they had ever met with law enforcement or ever talked to the FBI, and so we’re always investigating,” he said. “And it would be premature and not fair for me to unilaterally say yes or no.”
