Justice Department Deputy Administrator Defends Decision to Remove More Than a Dozen Photos from Jeffrey Epstein files published online last week.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged in a Dec. 21 interview that the department retrieved at least 15 photographs from a government website that hosts a massive collection of documents related to the late convicted sex offender.
In an interview with NBC News' “Meet the Press,” Blanche said the photos were removed at the request of victims' rights groups and that they would “come back” after the department determines whether they need to make further edits.
Several media outlets reported over the weekend that 15 or 16 photos originally included in the publicly released files had been removed. One of the images showed a table with an open drawer containing several printed photographs, including at least one of the president. Donald Trump. The deleted files also reportedly depict various works of art, including some containing nudity.
More: Epstein draws conclusions: serious editorials, celebrity photos, mention of Trump
“You can see pictures of women in this photo,” Blanche told NBC. “Since the publication of this photograph, we have learned that there are concerns about these women and the fact that we have posted this photograph. Therefore we have removed this photo. She has nothing to do with President Trump.”
Reports that the images had disappeared from the website hosting the files have sparked speculation over the Trump administration's handling of the already controversial material, as officials did not immediately explain why the images were removed. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published one of the photographs in question on X, a question for the Prosecutor General Pam Bondi: “What else are they hiding? We need transparency for the American public.”
Personal photographs can be seen on display and in the drawer of this image released by the Department of Justice on December 19, 2025, as part of thousands of files associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Among the images in the box are images of Donald Trump. The images were released by the US Department of Justice without location, dates or context information.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's Dec. 21 request for comment.
Blanche said the decision to remove the photos complies with the redacting requirements of the Epstein Transparency Act. The legislation passed Congress almost unanimously last month to force the Justice Department to release Epstein's files, overcoming the objections of Trump and Republican congressional leaders. The deadline for passage of the law was December 19, the day when thousands of files were published on the department's website.
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However, not all of Epstein's documents have been published. Blanche previously said lawyers were still reviewing the material to ensure victims were not named or identified, and the remaining hundreds of thousands of pages could take weeks to complete.
Files include photos, contact lists, flight logs, business records and notes, court documents and more. But key investigative documents known to be in the government's possession, including information that led to the 2019 federal indictment of Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell were completely absent in 2020.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act allows the Justice Department to withhold documents that identify victims, depict child sexual abuse or that could interfere with criminal prosecutions. But it also says records cannot be withheld, delayed or edited “for reasons of embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity, including with respect to any government official, public figure or foreign dignitary.”
November 18, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; Annie Farmer, an Epstein survivor whose sister Maria Farmer, pictured with her, was the first woman to file a criminal case against Epstein, in 1996, speaking Tuesday morning, November 18, 2025, alongside survivors as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the “Epstein Files Transparency Act” to force the Justice Department to release the full files of the federal investigation into the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey. Epstein. Mandatory credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY
The incomplete release of the files, as well as an ineffective search function, inconsistent editing and deletion of more than a dozen files, have further fueled criticism of the administration's handling of the release of the files and the Epstein controversy in general.
Blanche denied that the Justice Department was hiding anything by editing the files. Trump and Epstein were close friends for over a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s before breaking up.
“We do not edit information around the president Donald Trumparound every other person associated with Mr. Epstein, and that narrative … is not based on fact,” Blanche told NBC News.
Katherine Palmer is a political reporter for USA TODAY. You can contact her at [email protected] and to X@KatherinePlmr. Sign up for her daily political newsletter Here
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Epstein Files: Todd Blanche Defends Justice Department, Collecting Documents, Trump Photo
