The Department of Justice recently found itself backtracking after a decision to omit a photograph from the public release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein stirred controversy. The photograph in question, which was initially removed, featured President Donald Trump alongside his wife Melania, Epstein, and Epstein’s close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

This photograph dates back to February 2000 and was taken at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. It is notably one of the few images of President Trump included in the documents acquired during a federal raid of Epstein’s New York City townhouse.

After facing accusations of attempting to cover up the photo’s existence, the Department of Justice has reinstated the image in the document set. On Sunday, the department confirmed that the photograph would be included once more, addressing the situation publicly.

“The Southern District of New York identified an image of President Trump for possible further review to ensure victim protection,” the department clarified through social media channels.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image to conduct a thorough review,” they further explained, aiming to allay concerns over the temporary removal.

‘Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review.

‘After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction.’

Still, Representatives Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, announced Sunday that they are speaking with their fellow members of Congress about holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt.

They claimed that is the best way to hold the Justice Department accountable for its failure to release all eligible files related to Epstein’s crimes by Friday’s deadline.

‘The quickest way, and I think the most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to brig inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, Massie said on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday when he was asked how Congress could force the DOJ to release the rest of the files it has on the sex pest.

Khanna went even further in his remarks, warning of possible impeachment.

‘Congress is talking about possible impeachment. They’re talking about inherent contempt for the attorney general or deputy attorney general,’ he told CNN on Friday.

‘Any Justice Department official who has obstructed justice could face prosecution in this administration or a future administration,’ the Democrat warned. 

He also told NBC News that he and Massie are ‘building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she’s not releasing these documents.

The two congressmen led efforts last month to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which compelled the Trump administration to release all unclassified files it had on the late financier by December 19. 

But it soon became clear that the files released on Friday were missing certain information, including the photo of Trump with Epstein, prompting some to accuse the White House of a cover-up.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led the criticisms, alleging it ‘could be one of the biggest cover ups in American history’ as he demanded ‘transparency for the American public.’

Politicians on both side of the aisle have voiced concerns about the disappearing Epstein files.

‘This is a White House Cover-Up,’ Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote in a tweet.

The Committee, in another post, also pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo, writing: ‘What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.’

Schumer, referencing a comment made by Trump’s Chief of Staff, said the removal of the files is what ‘Susie Wiles meant when she said Trump and Epstein were “young, single playboys together”.’

Wiles, in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, addressed the Epstein files and Trump’s relationship with the pedophile.

‘They were, you know, sort of young, single, whatever—I know it’s a passé word but sort of young, single playboys together,’ Wiles told the outlet. She also admitted Trump ‘is in the file’ but that ‘he’s not in the file doing anything awful.’

Schumer’s post added: ‘And if they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide… 

‘This could be one of the biggest cover ups in American history.’

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, though, insisted that all of the files would be released – but said that Department of Justice attorneys were still working to redact information and photos related to Epstein’s victims.

‘We’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted, which is exactly what the Transparency Act expects,’ he said on Meet the Press.

He added that he does not take the threats from Khanna and Massie seriously, ‘not even a little bit.’

‘Bring it on,’ he urged, saying: ‘We are doing everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with this statute.

‘And Congressman Massie and these other congressmen that are coming out speaking negatively about [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel and the attorney general have no idea what they’re talking about.’ 

Still, the question over the missing photo deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. 

The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.

Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein were nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.

Along with the missing photo were FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions – records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.

The records also hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountability

Among the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.

The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the US Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.

There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton but fleetingly few of Trump.  

Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. 

Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.

But Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress – including members of his own party – and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials.

The documents that have been made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages records in the department’s possession. 

In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.

Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases or freedom of information requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.

Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. 

A 119-page document marked ‘Grand Jury-NY,’ likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.

It is has since become un-redacted.  

There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions and was no explanation given for why any of them were together.

The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007 yet never charged him.

Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.

One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.

Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.

‘For every girl that I brought to the table he would give me $200,’ she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. ‘I also told them that if they are under age, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.’

The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the US attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.

Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.

He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.

‘I’m not saying it was the right view,’ Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.

‘There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,’ Acosta said.