A photo of Donald Trump standing with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein disappeared on Saturday after being posted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on their webpage just one day prior in an effort to release more of the Epstein files to the public.
The files are a body of documents that detail the criminal activities of Jeffrey, a powerful financier who ran a sex trafficking ring and was reportedly friends with high-profile people, including celebrities and politicians. Jeffrey died in prison in August 2019 after serving time for just over a month.
The DOJ released a slew of heavily redacted documents from the files on Friday, including a photo of Jeffrey's desk inside his Manhattan home. In the photo, the desk drawer had opened to reveal a picture of Donald standing with the deceased criminal, as well as Melania Trump, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey's former girlfriend and associate, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
In another photo, Donald was pictured surrounded by several women in bathing suits. None of the photos showed criminality on anyone's part. Other photos that were removed from the DOJ website include snaps of paintings of nude women on the walls of Jeffrey's apartment.
Learn more about Jeffrey Epstein below...
The DOJ and US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche shared in social media posts that some photos and documents may need to be taken down in order to protect the privacy of the victims.
"Today, the Department of Justice publicly released materials related to Jeffrey Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Additional responsive materials will be produced as our review continues, consistent with the law and with protections for victims," wrote Todd.
"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 DOJ added.
The department asked the public to contact them if they see any "information that should not have been posted". The DOJ was slammed by politicians for what they perceived as a lack of transparency due to the heavily redacted nature of the files.
The Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee shared their disdain over the photo's disappearance in a social media post on Sunday.
"This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release," read the committee's X post. "[Attorney General Pam Bondi] is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public."
The DOJ then clarified that they removed the photo "out of an abundance of caution" as it was flagged by the Southern District of New York "for potential further action to protect victims".
"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." Todd dismissed the claims that the photo was initially removed due to its depiction of Donald.
"It has nothing to do with President Trump," he told NBC News. "There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr Epstein. So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable."
Other photos released by the DOJ on Friday include snaps of former President Bill Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, and Grammy winner Michael Jackson. None of the pictures showed any criminality on their part.