House Oversight Committee
Documents have disappeared from the portal without any explanation, while questions are increasingly raised about whether the disclosures actually contribute to public accountability. Victims of the pedophile say they are “nervous and skeptical about how they will disclose the rest of the files”.
At least 16 files disappeared from the United States Department of Justice with documents related to Jeffrey Epsteinincluding a photograph of Donald Trump, without any explanation being given.
Files disappear less than a day after having been and without a justification until now from the Government and without the action having been communicated.
The US Department of Justice finally began, on Friday, to release its files on Epstein, a convicted sex offender and wealthy financier known for his connections to some of the most influential people in the world, including US President Donald Trump.
The missing files, which were available on Friday and no longer accessible on Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women and one showing a series of photographs along a sideboard and in drawers. In this image, inside a drawer and among other photos, was a photograph of Donald Trump next to Epstein, Melania Trump (wife of the President of the United States) and , longtime associate of Epstein.
Victims “nervous” about poorly disclosed information
The Justice Department did not say why the files were removed or whether their disappearance was intentional. A department spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification.
On the Internet, the inexplicable disappearance of files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, intensifying the mystery long-standing investigation into Epstein and the powerful figures around him.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee flagged the missing image with a photo of Donald Trump in a post on social media site X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
The episode deepened concerns that had already arisen with the long-awaited release of Justice Department documents. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new information about Epstein’s crimes or about the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years.
Some of the most anticipated materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos, are missing.
The records, whose disclosure is mandatory by a recent law approved by Congress, barely mention several powerful figures long associated with Epsteinincluding , who according to one of the photographs revealed, used a royal residence for sexual encounters linked to Epstein.
This rekindles questions about who was investigated, who was not and how much the revelations really contribute to public accountability. Victims of the Epstein case complain. “We just want all the evidence of these crimes to be disclosed”says Liz Stein to .
Marina Lacerda, who was 14 when she was abused by Epstein, told the British station that some of the survivors were still “nervous and skeptical about how they would release the rest of the files.”
“We are very worried that the text will continue to be censored in the same way it was today” and “a little disappointed that they are still prolonging the matter and distracting us with other things”, he reveals.
After the first wave of images without judicial support, which included images of the former US president at Epstein’s residence Bill Clinton relaxing in a jacuzzi and photos of Jeffrey Epsteinconvicted sex offender, with celebrities such as Mick Jagger e Michael Jacksonare among thousands of files released on Friday by the Department of Justice.
