The Department of Justice published another huge tranche of files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein early Tuesday while warning that the release included “untrue and sensationalist claims” about President Donald Trump.
The DOJ has been under fire since it responded to Friday’s deadline set by the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act through Congress in November by releasing an incomplete set of documents and photographs drawn from to its past investigations into the disgraced billionaire, much of which was heavily redacted.
With a victims’ group branding its handling of the release “unacceptable” and the lawmakers behind the act weighing contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi, the department made a further 11,000 files available for download on its website Tuesday, amounting to nearly 30,000 pages or 10GB of data.
Shortly after doing so, the DOJ posted on its official account on X (Twitter) to say that some of the claims within the latest batch alluding to the president were false – but did not specify to which it was referring.
“The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein,” it wrote.
“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.
“Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”
The DOJ’s social media post in defense of Trump marked the first time it has offered any commentary or annotation to the flood of documents, emails, and photographs issued from its archives, most of which have been presented with little context to help explain or date them.
Files reviewed by The Independent so far included an internal email sent by an unnamed assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York dating from January 2020, who wrote to colleagues that flight records obtained from Epstein’s private jet had revealed that Trump had flown in it “many more times than previously has been reported.”
Other documents examined so far have revealed titbits of information about Epstein himself, Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend and accomplice, and other well-known friends like Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York. Being mentioned in the documents does not imply wrongdoing, however.
Trump himself complained about the release of the files at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida Monday, warning they could “ruin the reputation” of high-profile public figures who were “innocently” photographed alongside Epstein a long time ago.
The president also said that the scandal threatened to “deflect from the tremendous success” of his administration and expressed sympathy for former president Bill Clinton, who appeared in a number of photographs made available in Friday’s release socializing with Epstein and celebrities like Sir Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
“I like Bill Clinton,” Trump said. “I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I’ve been nice to him. He’s been nice to me. We’ve always gotten along. I respect him. I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats, and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. There’s even photos of me, too.”
Clinton called on the DOJ Monday to release all other files in which he was mentioned “immediately,” saying its piecemeal approach amounted to “insinuation” and only served to “imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared.”
The DOJ has faced ongoing criticism for its handling of the Epstein files, exemplified at the weekend when a number of files were pulled from its website less than a day after they were posted.
At least 16 files disappeared Saturday from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Epstein – including a photograph showing Trump. The picture was then restored on Sunday, with the DOJ issuing a statement saying that it had been temporarily removed for review “out of an abundance of caution”.
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the statement added.
