Trump complains about Epstein files distracting from his agenda as DOJ comes under fire over limited release [View all]

Source: The Independent

Monday 22 December 2025 21:34 EST


President Donald Trump has criticized the release of thousands of documents from cases against Jeffrey Epstein, warning they could “ruin the reputation” of high-profile figures who were “innocently” photographed alongside the convicted sex offender and “deflect” from his administration’s accomplishments.

In his first public remarks since the Department of Justice started to publish thousands of images and heavily redacted materials, the president said the release of images of former President Bill Clinton and others photographed with Epstein is a “terrible thing.”

“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruin the reputation of somebody.”

Growing pressure from members of Congress to release the long-awaited files is merely an attempt to “deflect from the tremendous success” of the Republican Party and the Trump administration, and Republican lawmakers who support the disclosures are “being used,” the president told reporters. The Justice Department failed release all of the files related to Epstein’s cases in its possession despite federal law — signed by Trump — requiring his administration to publicly disclose everything it has by last Friday, December 19.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-epstein-files-doj-release-b2889267.html