Deputy AG says removing photos from Epstein files release has 'nothing to do' with Trump

Deputy AG Todd Blanche on Sunday said that the Justice Department’s decision to remove over a dozen photographs on Saturday that had been released as part of the files on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, “has nothing to do with President [Donald] Trump."

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the Justice Department’s decision to remove over a dozen photographs Saturday that had been released as part of the files on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday “has nothing to do with President Trump" and that it came at the request of victim advocacy groups.

Instead, Blanche said, the removed photographs included unredacted pictures of women, and “that photo will go back up” after Justice Department officials investigate whether they need to make further redactions.

NBC News confirmed Saturday that 15 images that appeared as part of Friday’s Epstein files release had been removed from the Justice Department’s website Saturday.

Add NBC News to GoogleSome Epstein documents released by the Justice Department no longer available02:23One of the files included a photo of a tabletop covered by framed photos of Epstein with famous people. An open drawer on the tabletop included printed photos of Trump with women in bathing suits.

"We don’t have perfect information," Blanche said Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press." "And so when, when we hear from victims’ rights groups about this type of photograph, we pull it down and investigate. We’re still investigating that photo. The photo will go back up, and the only question is whether there will be redactions on the photo."