The missing image reportedly showed Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein, Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell, raising fresh scrutiny amid the ongoing release of Epstein-related records.
BY PC Bureau
December 21, 2025: Sixteen documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — including one containing a photograph of former US President Donald Trump — were removed from a US Justice Department public website less than a day after being posted, with no explanation from authorities, fueling renewed scrutiny of the government’s handling of the Epstein files.
The files were accessible on Friday but were no longer available by Saturday. Among the missing materials were images of paintings depicting nude women and a photograph showing a credenza and drawers filled with pictures. Inside one drawer, alongside other photographs, was an image showing Trump with Epstein, Melania Trump, and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Justice Department has not clarified why the files were removed or whether their disappearance was deliberate. A spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
READ: Convicted Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell Flew to India With Bill Clinton
#BREAKING🔸 🇺🇸 Trump’s DOJ quietly yanks photo of him from freshly released Epstein files – file EFTA00000468 vanished overnight, leaving a glaring gap#EpsteinFiles #TrumpEpstein #DOJCoverUp #Epstein https://t.co/siX9zAkVsT pic.twitter.com/Jz9V6WschM
— Twilight (@TwilightDewy) December 20, 2025
The unexplained removal quickly sparked online speculation and renewed political criticism. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee highlighted the missing image featuring Trump, posting on X: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
The episode has added to growing concerns surrounding the Justice Department’s highly anticipated release of Epstein-related records. While tens of thousands of pages were made public under a law passed by Congress, the disclosures offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years.
Notably absent are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos analyzing charging decisions — documents that could have shed light on why Epstein was permitted in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge. Several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, are barely referenced, raising fresh questions about the scope and completeness of the disclosures.
The released materials are heavy on photographs of Epstein’s properties in New York City and the US Virgin Islands, along with images of celebrities and politicians. There are numerous previously unseen photos of former President Bill Clinton but comparatively few involving Trump. Both men have acknowledged past social contact with Epstein but have denied any wrongdoing, and none of the images are linked to criminal charges.
Despite a congressional deadline to release all records, the Justice Department said disclosures would continue on a rolling basis, citing the time required to redact survivors’ identities. Critics, including Epstein accusers and lawmakers, argue that the process has instead prolonged uncertainty and undermined accountability.
Federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking in 2019, but he died by suicide in jail before trial. Officials acknowledge that the records released so far represent only a fraction of the millions of documents in government custody, many of which remain unseen or heavily redacted.
While some newly released grand jury transcripts indicate prosecutors had substantial evidence against Epstein as early as 2007, advocates say the piecemeal disclosures — and now the unexplained disappearance of files — underscore how far the government still is from providing a full accounting of Epstein’s crimes and the institutional failures that enabled them.
