Donald Trump has been accused of a historic cover-up after pictures linking him to Jeffrey Epstein were removed from government files.
The controversy centres on Image 468, which disappeared from a tranche of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its probe into billionaire paedophile Epstein. It shows a cluster of framed photos in Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
One is of Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and the former Prince Andrew at Royal Ascot. Also visible is an open drawer containing several other photographs – including one of Mr Trump with his arms around a group of young women.
Another shows the then-New York property tycoon with his wife Melania, Epstein and Maxwell. An Epstein victim told the Mirror: “This is the greatest ever cover-up in American history. The removal of that photograph didn’t happen by accident. None of us believes it wasn’t Trump who ordered it to be gone.
“It protects him, Andrew and others who moved in Epstein’s world, and it tells survivors that power matters more than truth. Evidence was there for the public to see, and then it was quietly taken away. That is exactly how people at the top escape accountability, and it feels like we’re being silenced all over again.”
Image 468 was removed as part of a wider purge in which at least 16 files vanished from the Justice Department’s public webpage less than a day after being posted.
Today, US Justice Department officials said they were protecting victims of Epstein when they removed several images from the initial release of Epstein’s files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “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.”
Discussing image 468, he added: “You can see in that photo there are photographs of women, and so 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.”
Online, the unexplained disappearance of the files triggered widespread anger and suspicion. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee highlighted the missing image in a post on X, asking: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
The episode compounded criticism of the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release, which ran to tens of thousands of pages. However, the documents revealed little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the decisions that allowed him to evade justice for years.
Notably absent were FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memoranda analysing charging decisions. Among the limited new material were records shedding light on the abandonment of a federal probe into Epstein in the mid 2000s, enabling him to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level charge in 2008.
Lawyers for one of Epstein’s earliest accusers, Maria Farmer, says more than 1,000 victims might have been spared if she had been believed in 1996. Ms Farmer’s complaint almost 30 years ago centred on an allegation Epstein had stolen photographs of her sisters, aged 12 and 16.
“Epstein at one time requested [redacted] to take pictures of young girls at swimming pools,” the complaint, revealed in the documents, read. “Epstein is now threatening [redacted] that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down.”
Lawyer Brad Edwards said: “Had the FBI just listened to her and paid attention… over a thousand victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided.”
The released material included previously unseen images of former president Bill Clinton, but comparatively few of Mr Trump. Both men acknowledge knowing Epstein but deny any wrongdoing. Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein abused her at his New York mansion when she was 14, said: “I feel like again the justice system is failing us.”
Epstein he died by suicide while awaiting trial on federal charges in 2019. Maxwell, 63, was convicted of child sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year sentence.
