AT A GLANCE
- At least 16 Epstein-related files disappeared from the DOJ website within 24 hours of being posted
- One missing image included Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell
- DOJ gave no public notice, saying only that materials are under continued review
- Survivors and lawmakers say the release raises serious transparency concerns
Key Records Still Missing From Epstein File Dump DOJ Offers No Timeline, Cites Ongoing Review and Redactions
At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including a photograph showing Donald Trump, less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.
The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women and one showing a series of photographs arranged along a credenza and inside drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Justice Department did not answer questions Saturday about why the files disappeared but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”
Online, the unexplained removal of files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue surrounding Epstein and the powerful figures who moved in his orbit. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing, “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.
Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages. Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions, records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.
The gaps go further. The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountability.
Among the new information was insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to the state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.
The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with some photos of celebrities and politicians. There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton but comparatively few of Trump. Both men have been associated with Epstein but have since disavowed those relationships. Neither has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and there was no indication the photos played any role in the criminal cases brought against him.
Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis, blaming the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not provided notice of when additional records might be released.
That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the law forcing the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release appeared to be the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the government’s response.
“I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein began sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.
Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he died by suicide in jail after his arrest. The documents made public so far represent only a fraction of what could be millions of pages in the department’s possession. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors alone had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.
Many of the records released had previously been made public through court filings, congressional releases or freedom of information requests, though they were compiled in one searchable public database for the first time. New materials often lacked context or were heavily redacted. One 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY,” likely tied to federal sex trafficking investigations that led to charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.
Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the former president with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, as well as with broadcaster Walter Cronkite. None of the photos included captions or explanations for why the individuals were together.
The most substantive records released so far showed that federal prosecutors appeared to have a strong case against Epstein in 2007 but ultimately declined to charge him. Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews with girls and young women who said they were paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.
One girl told investigators she was sexually assaulted by Epstein after initially resisting his advances during a massage. Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury that Epstein hired her when she was 16 to perform sexual massages and that she later recruited other girls to do the same.
“For every girl that I brought to the table he would give me $200,” she said, adding that many were people she knew from high school. “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 an interview Justice Department lawyers conducted more than a decade later with Alexander Acosta, the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case and later served as labor secretary during Trump’s first term. Acosta cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers and said the department may have been reluctant to pursue federal charges in a case straddling the line between sex trafficking and prostitution, which is often handled at the state level.
“I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta said, adding that public attitudes toward survivors have since shifted. “There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming.”
Jennifer Freeman, an attorney representing Epstein accuser Maria Farmer and other survivors, said the document release left her client feeling vindicated after years of seeking confirmation that Epstein and Maxwell possessed child sexual 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.”
