Victims voice anger over partial release of Epstein files

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – The victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein voiced anger and frustration after the release of long-awaited court records, many of which were heavily redacted with pages blacked out and photographs censored.

The materials released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former US President Bill Clinton and other famous names in Epstein’s social circle, including rock icon Mick Jagger and pop legend Michael Jackson.

But the extensive blackouts of many documents, combined with control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, fueled widespread allegations of a high-level cover-up aimed at protecting powerful figures.

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 of the files.

“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 outlets reported over a dozen other images being removed from the trove of files after their initial posting.

The US Department of Justice issued a statement late Saturday defending its decision to retract files after their release to the public.

“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 the social media platform X.

Among scores of blacked-out sections throughout the documents, one 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” was entirely redacted with no visible content whatsoever.

One Epstein survivor, Jess Michaels, said she spent hours combing through the documents to find her own victim’s statement and communications from when she had called an FBI tip line to report information.

“I can’t find any of those,” she told CNN in an interview. “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, with Trump, once a close friend, among them.

At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures with faces and identifying details obscured. Previously unseen photographs of disgraced former Prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women in what appears to be a casual social setting.

Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub with part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice and former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

When Trump’s aides attempted to use the photos to criticize Clinton, his spokesman 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 a girl for tonight,” suggesting the transactional nature of Epstein’s operations.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete release of the files without redactions, said the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”

That law required the government’s complete case file to be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legitimate legal concerns and victim privacy protections.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC News that there was no attempt “to hold anything back” to protect Trump or other powerful individuals.

Trump spent months attempting to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress—including members of his own party who demanded transparency—and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials.

Trump once moved in the same elite Palm Beach and New York party scene as Epstein, appearing with him at social events throughout the 1990s. He severed ties years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case.

But his right-wing base has long fixated on the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging the financier ran a sophisticated sex-trafficking ring for the global elite and powerful political figures.

Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes and is currently serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting and grooming underage girls for the former banker, whose death was officially ruled a suicide.