Epstein files live: Whistleblowers could hold key, says Democrat, while Bondi tweet provokes fierce backlash – UK Times

Trump only appeared in the tens of thousands of documents a handful of times, and one of the photographs that appeared to show the president was removed by the DOJ Saturday, Democrats said. Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing.

“With regard to files, we’re being very transparent,” Johnson’s Trump began. “Because Jeffrey Epstein was a terrible man, and I didn’t know him, and I liked him a lot.”

Rhian Lubin has the story.

X users on Sunday were quick to add missing context to a Sunday tweet from the attorney general vowing to go after remaining criminals tied to the Epstein ring.

Under a tweet from Attorney General Bondi reaffirming the DOJ’s “commitment” prosecute Epstein-related crimes, X users lodged a community note pointing out the numerous redactions and multiple deleted files in the materials that have been released on Epstein to the public so far.

It’s also worth noting how Bondi’s statement appears to contrast with the DOJ’s position over the summer, that further investigations into Epstein associates were not warranted based on existing evidence.

Donald Trump may be fuming behind closed doors about the ongoing political pressure of the Epstein scandal, according to congressman Ro Khanna.

“I think Trump is genuinely very frustrated because the reality is usually he just lies about something or says, ‘Move on,’ and his base moves on,” Khanna told The Bulwark on Sunday. “If he wants to bomb people in the Caribbean, he’ll bomb people in the Caribbean. If he wants to have ICE agents rip people away from their families, they’ll have ICE agents do that…And usually the Republicans in Congress don’t say anything.”

“In his opinion, he just doesn’t understand it,” Khanna added. “Why is it that he’s losing his MAGA base over this issue?”

Republican lawmakers like Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene have played a key role in the pressure on Trump so far, helping trigger a vote in the House that ultimately paved the way for the president to sign a law mandating the release of the Epstein files.

The DOJ admitted on Sunday it has “hundreds of thousands” of pages from the Epstein files it has yet to release, despite a Friday legal deadline to share the files with the public.

In an X post, the Justice Department said the delays were because of efforts to ensure releases complied with court orders and protected the identities of victims and minors.

“NO redactions have been or will be made to protect famous individuals or political exposed persons, “ the department wrote.

A team of roughly 200 lawyers is working on reviewing the files, the DOJ added.

The newly released Epstein files include a reference to a 2020 lawsuit describing the late pedophile’s approach of a girl thought to be his first victim.

The lawsuit alleges that in 1994, Epstein and his now-imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell approached a 13-year-old, whose name is anonymous in the filing, at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan.

At the time, the teen was a student there and Epstein “bragged to her about being a patron of the arts,” according to the lawsuit.

Epstein and Maxwell allegedly asked the girl numerous questions about her background, and later proceeded to “groom” the teen over a number of years when she returned to her home in Florida.

Epstein allegedly sexually abused the girl on multiple occasions and insisted she call him “godfather,” according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims that Epstein once introduced the teen to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, at which point “Epstein elbowed Trump playfully asking, referring [to teen], “‘This is a good one, right?’”

By 1999, the girl had moved to Los Angeles and cut ties with Epstein, according to the suit.

“It’s not news that President Trump knew Epstein back in the day, because he kicked him out of his club for being a creep,” the White House told The Independent. “Despite desperate wishcasting from the Democrats, the fact remains: Donald Trump never did anything wrong. The same can’t be said for Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett who continued to reach out to and pal around with Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.”

The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge associated with Epstein’s abuses and trafficking.

The allegations appear to match those made in a book about Epstein.

The Justice Department has now republished a highly scrutinized photo from the Epstein files showing a drawer with pictures of Donald Trump, which it had previously removed from circulation.

In the photo, one of the images visible appeared to show Trump standing with a group of women, while another was a well-known image of Trump, Melania Trump, Epstein, and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

When observers noticed the photo had gone missing, Democrats accused the administration of orchestrating a cover-up.

“The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims,” the Justice Department wrote on X of the restored image. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review. 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.”

The removed photo was just one of multiple files that were released then deleted over the course of this weekend.

Catch up on the whole controversy here.

The Trump administration is on the defensive, facing accusations it is illegally slow-walking the release of the Epstein files.

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday seemed to add fuel to the fire with an X post where she vowed the DOJ would “bring charges against anyone involved in the trafficking and exploitation of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.”

“Your promise to prosecute rich & powerful men who were at Epstein’s rape island would be more credible if you stop breaking @RepThomasMassie & my law,” Rep. Ro Khanna wrote on X in response. “Release the draft 60 count indictment, 82 page prosecution memo and the FBI files.”

“Unfortunately, @AGPambondi is breaking the law,” Massie added in his own X post. “Epstein survivors aren’t satisfied with the DOJ’s incomplete and redacted Epstein files disclosures, and neither am I. Congress should assert its ability to hold Bondi in ‘inherent contempt’ to get justice for the survivors.”

Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, slammed the Trump administration for saying for months that the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were ready to be released – only to heavily redact the materials and miss the legal deadline for releasing them in full.

“To spend this entire period of time, the last few months, claiming that you have the files ready to be released… And then this all-out effort to hide them from the public, to stop the will of Congress, to not answer the oversight subpoena. What they need to understand is that there are hundreds of FBI agents and others that are good American patriots that have worked to put these files together. They know what is in them,” Garcia said Sunday on MS NOW.

Garcia urged anyone at the FBI or Department of Justice who worked on the Epstein files – who believes their work is currently being hidden – to come forward to the Oversight Committee.

Isbael Keane has the story.