WTF???
On Friday, the Department of Justice was required to (finally) release the Jeffrey Epstein files in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which stated all documents related to the investigation must be made publicly available and searchable by December 19.
Well, just one day after the already heavily-redacted documents hit the internet, folks noticed several were deleted!
There are about 16 files reportedly missing. Per the Associated Press, they were made public on Friday but disappeared by Saturday. This includes a photo featuring President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump!
Related: Epstein’s Private Island Lair: Never Before Seen Photos Released
In one snapshot, a bunch of photos are lined up on a credenza and in drawers, and one image in a drawer is of Trump, Epstein, Melania, and Epstein’s longtime pal Ghislaine Maxwell. Yeesh. Other missing photos include paintings of nude women.
But the files are suddenly GONE! And the answer for it is… inneresting.
Everyone with knowledge of the situation is downplaying the significance of a Trump photo disappearing. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC‘s Meet the Press this was actually done to protect victims. He explained on Sunday:
“There were a number of photographs that were pulled down after being released on Friday. That’s because a judge in New York has ordered us to listen to any victim or victim rights group, if they have any concerns about the material that we’re putting up.”
The Attorney General continued:
“So when we hear concerns — whether it’s photographs of women that we do not believe are victims or we didn’t have information to show that they were victims, but we learned that there are concerns, of course — we’re taking that photograph down, and we’re going to address it.”
Insisting Trump has “nothing” to hide regarding the Epstein files, Todd added:
“If we need to redact faces or other information, we will, and then we’ll put it back up. So we are, in every way, shape and form, complying with the statute.”
And he claimed:
“You should not be surprised that the material that we released on Friday, or the material that we’re going to release over the next couple of weeks, is exactly what the statute requires us to release.”
But when asked to confirm if the files, and specifically the one involving Trump, were removed “at the direction of a judge,” Blanche replied:
“You can see in that photo, there’s photographs of women. … We learned after releasing that photograph that there were concerns about those women, and the fact that we had put that photo up. So we pulled that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump.”
As for the delay in releasing all the files, he said the statute “requires us to protect victims, and so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that — to protect victims.”
Hmm…
Hear Todd’s full interview and more on the Epstein files (below):
Obviously, it’s important to protect the victims. But is that really the only reason the Trump photo is gone? What do U make of this, Perezcious readers?! Sound OFF (below)!
For more information on violence against women, go to https://www.justice.gov/ovw/resources-for-survivors. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via MEGA/WENN & New York Sex Offender Registry]
