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Kicker: Cover-

• Sixteen photographs quietly deleted from disclosure site over the weekend without notice
• Removed images include Trump photo and crime scene documentation from Epstein mansion
• Bipartisan lawmakers threaten impeachment as critics call removal a violation of federal law

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — The Justice Department is now engaged in what critics are calling an open cover-up, carried out in direct violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last month.

Files Vanish Without Notice or Explanation

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Over the weekend, the department quietly removed 16 photographs from the Epstein files website it created to comply with the disclosure statute passed by Congress. The removals came without notice or explanation. Among the deleted images was one of the few photographs that even indirectly featured Trump, showing a credenza drawer inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan home containing other photographs, including at least one of the president. Twelve others depicted Epstein’s third-floor massage room, a central crime scene in the federal investigation. Some images of the same room remain public while others disappeared.

Democrats Demand Answers From Bondi

When Democrats on the House Oversight Committee asked whether the Trump-related image had been taken down, the Justice Department declined to respond. The committee posted the missing file on social media, writing that Attorney General Pam Bondi needed to explain what else was being covered up.

“If they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide. This could be one of the biggest coverups in American history.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made that statement after learning of the removed photographs. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, vowed to investigate the violation of law and ensure the American people learn the truth.

DOJ Claims Ongoing Review Authority

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In a post on social media quoting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department claimed that materials would continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution. Blanche’s original post asserted that the department had released Epstein materials under the transparency act and that additional disclosures would follow as the review continues.

That explanation fails under the statute the department invoked. The Epstein Files Transparency Act explicitly states that no record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary. Congress did not authorize a rolling review that allows the department to retract already-released materials.

Lawmakers Consider Impeachment and Contempt

The backlash on Capitol Hill proved immediate and bipartisan. Representative Ro Khanna, the California Democrat who co-authored the transparency act with Republican Representative Thomas Massie, confirmed that both are drafting impeachment and contempt measures against Attorney General Bondi. Massie said the administration’s document release grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.

Representatives Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees, issued a joint statement accusing the Trump administration of violating federal law while covering up evidence about Epstein’s decades-long international sex trafficking ring. The lawmakers said courts around the country have repeatedly intervened when this administration has broken the law and they are now examining all legal options.

Victims Express Frustration With Release

Epstein survivors have condemned the handling of the disclosure. Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein began sexually abusing her at age 14, told reporters that the justice system is failing victims once again. Attorney Gloria Allred said she believes some files were improperly handled while names that should have remained protected appeared in the documents.

Congress now faces a choice between accepting that disclosure laws apply only when politically painless or enforcing the statute it wrote.

Will lawmakers follow through on threats of impeachment and contempt, or will the administration’s defiance go unchallenged?

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