WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored.
The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names in Epstein’s social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.
But blackouts of many of the documents — combined with control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration — fueled allegations of a high-level cover-up.
Democrats on Saturday demanded answers after one image that included a photo of Trump was no longer visible in the Justice Department’s online release.
“If they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide,” said senior Democrat Chuck Schumer. “This could be one of the biggest cover ups in American history.”
US media reported over a dozen other images being removed from the trove of files.
The US Department of Justice issued a statement late Saturday defending its decision to retract files after their release.
“Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information,” read the statement posted to X.
Among scores of blacked-out sections, one 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” was entirely redacted.
One Epstein survivor, Jess Michaels, said she spent hours combing the documents to find her victim’s statement and communication from when she had called a Federal Bureau of Investigation tip line.
“I can’t find any of those,” she told CNN. “Is this the best that the government can do? Even an act of Congress isn’t getting us justice.”
Even so, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s intimate ties to the rich, famous and powerful —- Trump, once a close friend, among them.
At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women.
Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
When Trump’s aides goaded Clinton over the photos, his spokesperson responded that the White House “hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves.”
Among the paperwork were handwritten notes using phrases such as “I have a female for him” and “[redacted] has girl for tonight.”
