Deputy US attorney general Todd Blanche said on Sunday that the removal of photos from the Jeffrey Epstein file release, including one of Donald Trump, had “nothing to do” with the president, as the justice department restored an image it had removed a day earlier that included a photo of Trump.
The US justice department said on Sunday it restored the image after concluding the photo posed no risk of public exposure to the late convicted sex offender’s victims. His unexplained removal on Saturday led to a chorus of accusations from Democrats of political interference in favor of the president, a former friend of Epstein.
Blanche said that a total of 16 dismissals were made at the request of victim advocacy groups. Blanche claimed that an investigation into the photos was ongoing and that the images would likely be re-uploaded after it was determined whether they needed redactions.
“We don’t have perfect information,” Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday. “And so when, when we hear from victims’ rights groups about this type of photo, we pull it down and investigate.”
The ‘system has failed the survivors’, says the victims’ rights lawyer
Victims’ rights lawyer Gloria Allred told CNN on Saturday that “the system has failed survivors,” including by releasing files that may have been “redacted.”
“I saw a number of names of survivors that should never have been published, because the whole point is to protect the survivors,” she told the outlet.
“The other concern that I also have has to do with the images of some of the potential victims and survivors, that some of those images have not been redacted, they should have been redacted, and in some cases, the images may be of unclothed women. And this is completely unacceptable.”
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Epstein’s victim’s sister reported him in 1996, but the FBI failed to investigate, files reveal
While Donald Trump’s justice department did not comply with a legal requirement to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein until Friday, one document in a disclosure that would otherwise have appeared to lift the veil on the authorities’ lack of action – and its dire consequences for dozens of teenage girls.
That document is an FBI report by Maria Farmer, a painter who worked for Epstein around 1996.
Farmer, whose sister Annie Farmer was abused by Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell at the age of 16, told authorities in 1996 that the late financier “stole” nude images of her siblings.
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DoJ failed to comply with Epstein files law – can Congress do something?
Multiple members of Congress threatened legal action after Donald Trump’s justice department failed on Friday to release all documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as required by law.
Several lawyers told the Guardian that those who make legal threats have tools with which they try to move. But there is a big obstacle: those who have legal authority in this case are those accused of failing to follow the law.
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The US Coast Guard is tracking another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
US Coast Guard officials said on Sunday they were tracking an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, according to Reuters, marking the second such action this weekend – and the third in the past week.
One official indicated that the tanker is subject to sanctions. The officials, who requested anonymity, did not reveal the precise location of the pursuit.
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Gripes and infighting on display in the Turning Point collection
Turning Point USA’s first annual meeting since its leader Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on a college campus made headlines for public infighting as the stars of Maga conservatism outlined its future direction. Kirk’s widow, Erika, said it “feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family is taking away the family business.”
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A Louisiana nursing student speaks out during her six-month ICE detention
A recent graduate of the School of Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans, who has been held in an ICE processing center for the past six months, spoke of her despair after her arrest.
“The only thing I want now is my freedom back,” Palacios told Nola.com. “I don’t want to be closed in a space where everything is controlled. I have no power to do anything. I feel hopeless all the time. And nothing moves to help me.”
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What else happened today:
Do you keep up? Here’s what happened Saturday 20 December 2025.