Trump’s DOJ Somehow Forgets to Redact Nude Photos in Epstein Files
In its latest release of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice included several unredacted nude photos of young women, some of whom may have been underage when the photos were taken.
The government is required by law to redact sensitive information and images in the Epstein files before releasing them, especially regarding anything that could identify victims. When The New York Times reviewed the latest files, however, they found 40 nude photographs of at least seven different people, with their faces visible.
The women in the photos could have been minors, as the Times could not confirm their identities or ages. Some appeared to have been taken at Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands, while others simply showed bedrooms and other private spaces. The publication initially notified the DOJ on Saturday of the images, flagging more of them on Sunday.
The images flagged by the Times have since been removed or redacted. A DOJ spokesperson said that the department was “working around the clock to address any victim concerns, additional redactions of personally identifiable information, as well as any files that require further redactions under the act, to include images of a sexual nature.”
“Once proper redactions have been made, any responsive documents will repopulate online,” the spokesperson said.
The Trump administration remembered to redact a picture of Donald Trump that appeared in a text message conversation between Epstein and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. But somehow, it neglected a particularly sensitive set of photos and directly violated the law that mandated the release of the Epstein files, half of which still have yet to be made public.
One of Epstein’s abuse victims, Annie Farmer, called the news of the unredacted images “extremely disturbing.”
“It’s hard to imagine a more egregious way of not protecting victims than having full nude images of them available for the world to download,” Farmer told the Times on Sunday.