The DOJ released the documents to comply with legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump.

08:34, Tue, Dec 23, 2025 Updated: 08:57, Tue, Dec 23, 2025

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President Donald Trump. (Image: Getty)

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t “like the pictures of other people being shown” as the Department of Justice began releasing more Epstein-related documents last week. Trump told reporters that he doesn’t “like the pictures of other people being shown,” according to Politico.

The DOJ released the documents to comply with legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump that requires the agency to release its files on the deceased sex offender. There is

“I don’t like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown. I don’t like the pictures of other people being shown. I think it’s a terrible thing,” Trump said. Both Mr Clinton and Mr Trump have been associated with Epstein, but they have since disowned their 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.

Mr Trump maintained that most of the celebrities had innocently encountered Epstein over the years.

Speaking following the photo dump, 79-year-old Mr Trump also said: "I know there are a lot of people that are angry about all the pictures of other people.

"I think it's terrible... This whole thing with Epstein is a way to try to deflect from the tremendous success of the Republican Party. I thought that was finished, a lot of people are very angry that this continues."

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Notable figures such as Michael Jackson, Mr Clinton, Sir Mick Jagger and politician Lord Mandelson have been seen in the thousands of photos published online in recent days. 

As reported by Politico, there has been “tremendous backlash” to the documents, Trump said, because they’ve ensnared “people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” including successful lawyers and businesspeople.

“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 a reputation of somebody, so a lot of people are very angry that this continues,” Trump said.

The release of information followed a statement from US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who highlighted the necessity to safeguard the victims of sex offender Epstein, leading to the forthcoming release of hundreds of thousands more documents.

Following the enactment of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the US Department of Justice was legally bound to publicise all files related to the Epstein investigation by midnight on Friday (December 19).

As reported by Politico, Trump also said: “What this whole thing is with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has.”

“I believe we’re going to have the most successful economy in history,” he said. “They don’t want to talk about that — they want to talk about Epstein.”