Justice department restores Donald Trump's removed photo to Epstein Files. Here's why

The US justness section on dominicus restored a photo of chair Donald ruff that it had removed while releasing the Epstein files, saying it had “temporarily removed” the image for “further review”.

In a statement, the justice department said that the said image of Trump, part of the photos released from the grand jury review of the Jeffrey Epstein case, was flagged by the southern district of New York for “potential further action to protect victims”.

“The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims. Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review,” the DoJ wrote on X.

The statement said that the image, showing a desk with an open drawer containing a photo of Trump with ⁠various women, has been restored to the released Epstein files “without any alteration or redaction”.

“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 statement added.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ​said earlier on Sunday that his office removed the photo due to concerns about the women in the photo.

“It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker."

Up to 16 photos, including the desk drawer image of Trump, were removed from the DOJ website on Saturday, according to reports from The New York Times, NPR, and the Associated Press.

Democratic lawmakers accused Donald Trump himself of defying a law ordering the release of all files on Epstein, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people.

"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," Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in a Sunday interview with ABC News, called for a "full and complete investigation as ‌to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required."

The US Congress passed a law last month to direct the justice department to release the full documents related to the Epstein case that were placed before the grand jury during the trial.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for the complete release of the files, joined in with the Democrats' demands.

"They're flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It's very troubling the posture that they've taken. And I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied," he told CBS's "Face The Nation."

The justice department released thousands of documents on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019. But it has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans, ​over extensive ⁠redactions and few documents mentioning Donald Trump despite his well-publicised friendship with Epstein.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein's crimes.

Trump tried to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

The president finally bowed to mounting pressure from Congress, including members of his own party, and signed the law compelling the publication of the material.

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