22.12.2025 06:35
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in response to criticisms that the Epstein documents were censored due to content related to President Donald Trump, pointed to victims' rights, stating, "This has nothing to do with President Trump." The U.S. Department of Justice also announced that a photo of Trump, after a detailed review, was republished without censorship.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to criticisms that documents related to billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of running a sexual abuse network targeting young girls and was found dead in prison, were published in a censored manner due to content related to U.S. President Donald Trump.
"OUR INVESTIGATION REGARDING THE PHOTO IS ONGOING"
Referring to the removal of more than a dozen files published on the website called "Epstein Library," which included a photo of Trump, Blanche stated, "This has nothing to do with President Trump." Pointing to the requests from victims regarding the removed images, Blanche said, "When we receive notifications from victim rights groups regarding such photos, we remove the photo and initiate an investigation. Our investigation regarding the photo (in which Trump is seen) is still ongoing. The photo will be republished, and the only question is whether there will be any censorship in the photo," he evaluated.
"TO PROTECT THE VICTIMS"
Addressing criticisms regarding the failure to publish all Epstein files by the deadline set by the U.S. Congress, which is Friday, Blanche emphasized that concealing the names and photos of the victims takes a long time. Describing the process as challenging, Blanche stated, "We are going through a very methodical process where hundreds of lawyers review each document and ensure that the names of the victims and all information from the victims are protected and concealed. This is exactly what the Transparency Act envisions," he said.
Emphasizing that more documents will be published after the reviews, Blanche stated, "The reason we continue to review the documents and proceed with the process is to protect the victims. Apparently, those who complain about the lack of documents published on Friday are the same people who do not want us to protect the victims," he said.
"THE PHOTO WAS REPUBLISHED WITHOUT CENSORSHIP"
In a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, it was noted that an image included in the published Epstein documents, which showed Trump, was temporarily removed for review, stating, "After the review, it was determined that there was no evidence of any of Epstein's victims being seen in the photo, and the photo was republished without any changes or censorship." The statement also highlighted the sharing of the link to access the mentioned photo.