US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect President Donald Trump as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily-censored release of documents.
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department and a decision to remove an image of several group photos including at least one showing Trump.
"There were concerns about those women and the fact that we had put that photo up," Blanche, a former personal lawyer to the president, told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"So we pulled that photo down. It has nothing to do with President Trump."
When asked if any material was redacted to due to political sensitivities -- which would be illegal -- Blanche replied "absolutely, positively not."
Democratic lawmakers on Sunday accused Trump himself of defying a law ordering the release of all files on Epstein, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people.
"It's all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn't want to go public, either about himself (or) other members of his family, friends," Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The tranche of materials released Friday included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop stars Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.
The Justice Department said it was protecting Epstein's victims with the blackouts.
But the many redactions -- and allegations of missing documents -- only added to calls for justice in a case that has fueled conspiracy theories from Trump's right-wing base.
- Republican: 'Selective concealment' -
Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete release of the files, on Sunday joined in with the Democrats' demands.
"They're flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It's very troubling the posture that they've taken. And I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied," he told CBS's "Face The Nation."
A 60-count indictment that implicates well-known people was not released, Massie charged. "It's about the selective concealment," he said.
Senator Rand Paul, a fellow Republican and frequent critic of Trump, warned during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" that any material not revealed "will just plague them for months and months more."
Trump tried 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 president finally bowed to mounting pressure from Congress -- including members of his own party -- and signed the law compelling publication of the material.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein, regularly attending parties together, but he cut ties with him years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing.
- Accomplice in jail -
At least one released file contained dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures, while previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women.
Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, said on "This Week" that justice officials must provide written explanation to Congress within 15 days about why they withheld any documents.
"It does appear, of course, that this initial document release is inadequate," Jeffries said.
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