At least 16 documents have disappeared from the Justice Department's Jeffrey Epstein case website, including a photograph of Donald Trump. The Associated Press reports, noting that the missing files were available on Friday, immediately after the disclosure, but are no longer accessible today. They include images of paintings depicting nude women, one showing a series of photographs on a dresser and inside a drawer.
It was right here that the photo was found depicting Trump, along with Epstein, Melania and Ghislaine Maxwell, which the Democrats claimed had been eliminated.
Over 100,000 pages of documents, thousands of photos and videos, a phone book containing the numbers of all the richest and most powerful men of the last 30 years, and, most importantly, the redacted names of 1,200 young women abused by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. But, according to analysts, the infamous files on the pedophile financier's case released by the US Department of Justice represent only 1% of the documents in the Attorney General's possession. After months of controversy, one of the most controversial cases of Donald Trump's second presidency appears far from over.
Meanwhile, there's the issue of the heavy censorship applied to the documents to protect the victims, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has argued. Democrats and some Republicans, however, argue that it's a ploy to continue protecting powerful individuals who knew about the hell and didn't report it, or who directly participated in the horrors. Then there's the Trump factor. The American president, who in recent months has been accused by the opposition and the more conservative Maga base of trying to hide the truth , appears almost entirely absent from the documents, except in a few stories or photos, and in his phone book with his ex-wife Ivanka and daughter Ivana.
Unlike former President Bill Clinton, who, along with former Prince Andrew, remains one of the subjects of Epstein's photographs. Furthermore, the nearly 95-page column features the names of thousands of leading figures from the entertainment, financial, and business worlds : from Mick Jagger and Phil Collins to Henry Kissinger, and even some Italians, including, as has emerged in recent years, Flavio Briatore and Giuseppe Cipriani.
Finally, there are those most harmed by these decades of silence: the billionaire's victims who fought in Congress for disclosure. On the one hand, they expressed satisfaction and vindication, but on the other, disappointment. "What are they hiding?" attacked Sky Roberts, the brother of Virginia Giuffrè, one of the victims who committed suicide a few years ago. In the "complete Epstein library," as the page dedicated to the dossier has been called, the documents are divided into various categories: court documents from criminal and civil cases; documents released in compliance with the law passed by Congress; material released following requests for access to public records; and documents from the House Oversight Committee.
But amidst the omissions—some of the documents are completely blank—and technicalities, many are wondering what remains in the department's drawers. While Trump has so far avoided direct comment, the White House has hailed the release of the files as a demonstration of the president's transparency. "By releasing thousands of pages of documents, he has done more for victims than Democrats ever have," said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who helped lead the campaign to pass the law on Capitol Hill, warned that if the Justice Department fails to adequately demonstrate compliance with the law that required the disclosure, Congress could initiate impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy U.S. Attorney Blanche. The release, he said, "was disappointing, at least on first reading. And it was not transparent."
The other campaign promoter, Republican Thomas Massie, also accused the Justice Department of "severely" violating its legal obligations . "The release of the documents in no way respects either the spirit or the letter of the law that Trump signed 30 days ago," he wrote on X. And naturally, Clinton's reaction was not long in coming. Her spokesperson accused the White House of pointing the finger at the former president's relationship with Epstein to divert attention from that between Trump and the pedophile financier. "There are two types of people in this affair," Angel Urena attacked. "The first group knew nothing and cut off contact with Epstein before his crimes came to light. The second group continued to frequent him even afterward. We belong to the first group. Everyone, especially Maga supporters, expect answers, not scapegoats."
(Unioneonline/D)