The “number two” of the US Department of Justice, Todd Blanche, emphasized this Sunday that the censorship of photos in the Epstein case files published on Saturday “has nothing to do with (Donald) Trump” and everything to do with the concerns of the victims.
A total of 15 images contained in the Epstein case documents released on Friday have been removed from the Justice Department’s website and Blanche has assured that “they will be available again” during an investigation into whether censorship with black rectangles should be applied, as in other documents.
One of the photos shows a desk with framed photos of Jeffrey Epstein with various notables such as Pope John Paul II and Bill Clinton. In an open drawer are photos of Trump with women in swimsuits.
“I have no reason to believe that the lawyers working on this case were talking about President Trump because he had nothing to do with the Epstein files. He had nothing to do with the terrible crimes that Mr. Epstein committed,” Blanche said in an interview with NBC.
“We are not censoring information about President Trump or anyone else associated with Mr. Epstein. This narrative, which is not based on facts, is a complete fallacy,” he emphasized.
The reason for the withdrawal would therefore be to protect the victims. “We don’t have perfect information. When victims’ rights groups report these types of photos to us, we remove them and investigate. We investigate this photo,” Blanche explained. “The photo will be re-uploaded and the only question is whether the photo will be censored,” he explained, referring to the black rectangles that appear on other photos and documents.
He also responded to criticism from the Democratic opposition for not releasing all files on Epstein on Friday, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress last month.
Blanche has suggested that the delays are related to the censorship that must be applied to names and photos of Epstein’s victims. “The reason we are still reviewing the documentation is simply to protect victims,” he stressed.
“It is a very methodical process in which hundreds of lawyers review each document to ensure that the names of the victims and all information concerning them are protected and censored, which is exactly what the Transparency Law provides,” he stressed.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking dozens of girls in the early 2000s. This millionaire, who at one point was even in contact with the likes of Prince Andrew of England – brother of Charles III -, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, was found hanging in his cell on August 10, 2019.
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