(AFP) – Allegations of a fresh cover-up over the Jeffrey Epstein files grew Sunday, as Democrats accused President Donald Trump of trying to protect himself by defying an order to release all files on the convicted sex offender. Victims of Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late financier, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people, were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored.
Several images were removed from the trove after being published on Friday evening — including one of Trump. “It’s all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn’t want to go public either about himself, other members of his family, friends,” Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The tranche of materials that the Department of Justice (DOJ) released included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop stars Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.
But the many redactions — and allegations of missing documents — only added to calls for justice in a case that has long fueled conspiracy theories from Trump’s right-wing base. The DOJ said it was protecting victims with the blackouts and defended its decision to retract some files. “Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information,” said a DOJ statement.
Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete disclosure of the files, on Sunday echoed the Democrats’ demands. “They’re flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It’s very troubling the posture that they’ve taken. And I won’t be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied,” he told CBS’s “Face The Nation.” A 60-count indictment that implicates many rich and powerful people was not released, Massie charged. “It’s about the selective concealment,” he said.
Senator Rand Paul, a fellow Kentucky Republican and frequent critic of Trump, warned during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that any evidence “that there’s not a full reveal on this, this will just plague them for months and months more.” Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The president bowed to mounting pressure from Congress — including members of his own party — and signed the law compelling publication of the materials.
The Republican president, who once moved in the same party scene as Epstein, cut ties with him years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, said on ABC’s “This Week” that justice officials must provide a written explanation to Congress within 15 days as to why they withheld any documents. “It does appear, of course, that this initial document release is inadequate. It falls short of what the law requires,” Jeffries said.
At least one file contained dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures, while previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women. Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.
– Imran VITTACHI
© 2024 AFP
