The US Department of Justice begins releasing thousands of documents and photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s files

This sparked outrage among members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, who supported the law forcing the release of the files.

Republican Thomas Massie said in a social media post that the post “flagrantly violates both the spirit and letter of the law.”

Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, made similar comments.

“The Justice Department’s failure to comply with the Epstein Records Transparency Act not only violates the law, but also continues this administration’s pattern of protecting President Trump and other perpetrators and continuing Bondi-Patel’s (the Attorney General and FBI Director) cover-up at the expense of Epstein’s victims,” ​​the spokesperson said.

The Epstein scandal has become an uncomfortable topic for Trump.

Various information has highlighted his ties to Epstein, and the president appears in documents and photos of the case released by US congressmen in recent weeks.

Trump has not been formally charged in any proceedings related to Epstein and said he broke off his friendship with him at least 15 years before his arrest.

The thousands of documents released this Friday are just a portion of the documents within the government’s control, and many of them have names and faces hidden in them.

Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general, said not all documents would be released, citing security concerns and protecting victims’ identities.

Blanche said: “We look at every piece of paper that we’re going to create and make sure that every victim, their names, their identities, their stories are protected as much as necessary.”

According to him, Justice Department lawyers are continuing to analyze the documents and “hundreds of thousands” of additional documents are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the Trump administration “the most transparent in history.”

Former President Bill Clinton appears to be one of the figures who appears most frequently in the files released this Friday by the Trump administration.

One of the photos appears to show him in a pool with two people, apparently women. One of the women’s faces appears obscured. The other appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s partner, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.

Clinton appears in another photo in what appears to be a hot tub, with her hands behind her head. The former president was photographed with Epstein several times in the 1990s and early 2000s before the financier fell from grace and was arrested for the first time. A Clinton spokesman said in 2019 that the former president “did not know about the terrible crimes” to which Epstein pleaded guilty.

Angel Urena, Clinton’s spokesman, said in statements quoted by The New York Times that “they can spread as many blurry photos from 20-plus years ago as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton.”

The spokesman said two groups of people appear in the documents: “The first group knew nothing and cut ties with Epstein before his crimes came to light. The second group maintained their relationship with him afterward.” According to the spokesman, Clinton belongs to the first group.

In other pictures, Clinton is photographed with Michael Jackson and in another with rock star Mick Jagger.

And another picture appears to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of King Charles III. of England, who was also affected by the Epstein scandals and who was stripped of his titles by the British royal family in October. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In the photo released by the Justice Department on Friday, Mountbatten-Windsor appears to be the man lying on the laps of a group of women and under the smiling gaze of Ghislaine Maxwell.

Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondent

As we sift through the wealth of information released today by the U.S. Department of Justice, one prominent figure was barely mentioned in these documents: Donald Trump.

Given the pressure and scrutiny the president has been under, including conspiracy theories about the nature of his relationship with the late sex trafficker, the White House may feel some relief.

In fact, it might be more than just relief. Trump War Room, the official

Last month, Trump called on his Justice Department to investigate Clinton’s “involvement and relationship” with Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a formal government investigation shortly thereafter.

Clinton was never accused of a crime by victims of Epstein’s abuses, and in 2019 a spokesman said that the former president “did not know about the terrible crimes” to which Epstein pleaded guilty.

Trump’s team may try to exploit the long-awaited release of Epstein’s files to the president’s advantage, although that strategy carries risks. Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said “several hundred thousand” pages of documents that have not yet been released are still being reviewed.

There is a chance that the name Trump, who had a long friendship with Epstein in the years before his first arrest, will appear in future posts. And when it doesn’t appear, those who believe in conspiracy theories will wonder why.

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