Victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein expressed their outrage on Saturday after a long-awaited set of case files against the late former financier was published, with many blacked out pages and censored photos.
Among the material that began to be published on Friday are multiple photographs showing the former Democratic president Bill Clinton and other high-profile figures, including singers Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, in the company of Epstein.
But a large part of the documents have large sections crossed out or with black boxes, fueling doubts about whether the publication will put to rest persistent conspiracy theories about a cover-up at the highest level.
Democrats demanded answers Saturday after an image that included a photo of Trump was no longer visible on the Justice Department’s online posting.
“If they take this back, imagine how much more they’re trying to hide,” said Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer. “This could be one of the biggest cover-ups in history.”
Among dozens of blacked out sections, a 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” It was completely censored.
One of Epstein’s victims, Jess Michaels, said she spent hours combing through documents to find his statement and communications from when she called an FBI tip line.
“I can’t find any of them,” he told CNN. “Is this the best the government can do? Not even an act of Congress is giving us justice.”
Still, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s intimate ties to the rich, famous and powerful — Trump, once one of his close friends, among them.
At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Unpublished photographs of disgraced former British Prince Andrew show him lying on the legs of five women.
Other images show Clinton relaxing in a hot tub, with part of the photo redacted, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice. Ghislaine Maxwell.
Victim privacy
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for sex offender information to be made public, said this measure “serious breaches both the spirit and the letter of the law” approved in Congress, which forces the government to publish the entire case file except documents that violate the privacy of the victims.
“Simply posting a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” Schumer, a Democrat, added.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche told ABC there was no attempt “to withhold anything” to protect Trump.
Trump, who in the past was a friend of Epstein, tried for months to prevent the publication of the files held by the Department of Justice, despite having campaigned in 2024 with the promise of complete transparency on the issue.
He finally bowed to pressure from Congress, including that of his Republican Partyand on November 19 he enacted a law requiring materials to be published within 30 days, a period that ended at midnight on Friday.
But his more conservative base has long been obsessed with the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging he ran a sex trafficking ring for the global elite.
Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting minors for the former banker, whose death was officially ruled a suicide.
