'Where Is File 468?': Democrats Question Missing Trump Photo In DOJ Epstein Files

New Delhi: As pressure mounts on the Trump administration for an alleged cover-up after at least 16 files were "removed" from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) webpage, among the first tranche of Epstein Files released on Friday, the Democrats have stepped up their attack pointing out that a photo with the file name 468, has gone missing from the website. 

The Democrats have accused the DOJ of removing the photograph which reportedly showed US President Trump with a woman with revealing clothes.

“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee posted on X. Tagging the US attorney general Pamela Bondi, he asked whether it is true and asked for transparency. 

Released Friday, Gone Saturday

The files were retracted less than a day after being made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The missing files also included a photograph showing Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein and Melania Trump. These files, which were available on the DOJ's website on Friday but gone by Saturday, have deepened the suspicion about Trump's link to convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department has not provided any reason for this deletion.

This deletion suggests a calculated effort by the Trump administration to manage the narrative around the rollout of the high-profile disclosure and raise questions about the protocols governing the release of such sensitive documents.

Reports indicate that the ‘missing’ files included images of paintings depicting nude women and a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. One of these photos shows Trump, Epstein, Melania Trump, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate. 

The Trump administration has been accused of withholding information about Epstein in the last few months. The release of thousands of pages of documents offered little new insight into Epstein's crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges. 

The ‘missing’ incident has triggered concerns over the integrity of DOJ's database. Many have questioned why certain files, were deemed fit for publication on Friday but unsuitable by Saturday. The Justice Department maintained that its method of releasing the documents in tranches is necessary to handle the logistical burden of redactions. 

Hardly Any Trump Connection

Trump's name was hardly mentioned in the documents and photographs released in the preliminary batch, though he was a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein. The photos that were released, included shots of him and Melania Trump with Epstein and the latter's close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The framed photo was found on top of a dresser.

In one of the photos, Epstein was seen standing with a woman and holding a novelty check for $22,500, signed by Trump. The photo frame was titled ‘Once in a blue moon’. The files also revealed some references to Trump in Epstein's address book and his flight logs. 

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