Trump’s DOJ Busted Scrubbing Him from Epstein Files Dump
House Oversight Democrats posted an image from Epstein’s desk featuring a picture of Trump and Epstein.
It appears the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is involved in the removal of a photo of Trump from the Epstein files, which have already undergone significant redaction and numerous deletions.
Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee wrote on X: “This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files showing Donald Trump, appears to have been removed from the version released by the Department of Justice.”
This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release.@AGPamBondi is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public. pic.twitter.com/3wYZAl2dse
— Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) December 20, 2025
They questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi: “Is this true? What else is being hidden? We demand transparency for the American people.”
The deleted photo shows Epstein’s office adorned with numerous framed photographs. In his desk drawer is a well-known photo of Trump smiling with his then-girlfriend, Melania, Epstein, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
If the DOJ did indeed remove the photo, as alleged by the House Oversight Committee Democrats and numerous social media users, it would reinforce suspicions that the department is actively erasing Trump’s image and references from the Epstein files, in violation of the Epstein Records Transparency Act.
This would also contradict Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch’s assertion that there is no attempt to conceal or remove Donald Trump’s name from the Epstein files.
“There is no redaction happening because of the name Donald J. Trump or anyone else’s name, like Bill Clinton or Reid Hoffman,” Blanch said in an interview with ABC News that aired Friday. “There is no redaction or non-redaction happening for that reason, but again, we are not redacting the names of prominent individuals associated with Epstein.”
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Justice released a batch of documents concerning Epstein on Friday, but Donald Trump, 79, does not appear in any of the published photos. However, these documents include a series of photos showing him with former President Bill Clinton, also 79, and other figures in the convicted sex offender’s circle.
Trump’s absence from the Epstein documents released Friday is particularly suspicious, given that Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends for years before the latter’s arrest for sex trafficking in 2019, and that they were photographed together on numerous occasions. Furthermore, Epstein’s estate had released photos showing Trump partying with unidentified women and Jeffrey Epstein a week before the Department of Justice released the documents.
The documents released by the Department of Justice were heavily redacted. The law on transparency regarding the Epstein documents allows for certain redactions, stating that “the Department of Justice is authorized to withhold certain information, such as the personal information of victims and information that could compromise an ongoing federal investigation.”
However, the law also requires the Department of Justice to “submit to Congress a report including: (1) all categories of information released and redacted; (2) a summary of the redactions made; and (3) a list of all government officials and prominent political figures named or mentioned in the released documents.”
Democrats and Republicans who support the release of the complete Epstein files expressed their dissatisfaction with Friday’s release.
On Friday, Democratic Representatives Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin stated: “Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are currently violating federal law by continuing to conceal the facts and evidence relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, multi-billion dollar international sex trafficking network.”
Representative Ro Khanna, co-author of the Epstein Transparency Act, said that he and his Republican colleague, Representative Thomas Massie, were drafting a resolution to remove Bondi from office.
