Blanche Says Epstein Files Weren't Pulled to Protect Trump

With the Justice Department facing criticism over the initial, incomplete release of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that references to the president are not being excluded. "We are not redacting information around President Trump," Blanche said on NBC's Meet the Press, after at least 16 of the files, including a photo of Trump, were pulled after being posted late Friday. Blanche said the photo was removed because of concerns about women pictured in other photos, the New York Times reports. The department said it restored the photo to its website on Sunday, per CNN.

"It has nothing to do with President Trump," Blanche said. "The absurdity of pulling down a single photo because of President Trump is laughable." The snapshot is of a desk containing multiple photos. One shows Trump with his wife, Melania; Epstein; and Ghislaine Maxwell, per Axios. In another, per NBC News, Trump is shown with several women, including at least one in a bikini. Blanche said victim advocacy groups had requested that the photos be taken down from the Justice Department website, per USA Today. Hundreds of government lawyers are reviewing roughly a million pages of material, Blanche said, to remove identifying details of victims.

Victims, advocates, and lawmakers have criticized the handling of the release, which only partly complies with a new law. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-wrote the legislation, said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation that Trump administration officials are "flouting the spirit and the letter of the law." Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said they're consulting other lawmakers about holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt over the issue, per NBC.