By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 13:50 EST, 22 December 2025 | Updated: 14:08 EST, 22 December 2025

Bill Clinton has demanded that Trump’s Department of Justice releases the rest of the Epstein files, after he was featured in multiple images in the last drop.

The former president, in a statement through his spokesman, said ‘someone or something is being protected. We need no such protection.’

Clinton called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to ‘immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton’.

He accused the DOJ of ‘selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years.’ 

Clinton further alleged that by refusing to release the files, the DOJ would be confirming suspicions that its actions are about ‘insinuation’ and not transparency. 

His statement comes as a group of 19 alleged victims of Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell accused the government of missteps in its partial release of the files.

They accused the DOJ of violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act by ‘withholding massive quantities of documents’ and ‘failing to redact survivor identities.’

They that the failure to release the full trove of files and the DOJ’s alleged lack of communication about its actions ‘suggests an ongoing intent to keep survivors and the public in the dark as much as possible and as long as possible.’

Bill Clinton (pictured in a photo from the Epstein Files) has demanded that Donald Trump’s Department of Justice releases the rest of the Epstein files, after he was featured in multiple images in the last drop

The records that were released by the DOJ last week – including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents – were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context. 

There were few revelations in the tens of thousands of pages of records that have been released so far. Some of the most eagerly awaited records, such as FBI victim interviews and internal memos shedding light on charging decisions, weren’t there. 

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has now urged his colleagues Monday to take legal action over the DOJ’s incremental and heavily redacted release of the records.

He introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the DOJ to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last Friday.

‘Instead of transparency, the Trump administration released a tiny fraction of the files and blacked out massive portions of what little they provided,’ Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat said in a statement. ‘This is a blatant cover-up.’

In lieu of Republican support, Schumer’s resolution is largely symbolic. The senate is off until January 5, more than two weeks after the deadline. 

Even then, it’ll likely face an uphill battle for passage. But it allows Democrats to continue a pressure campaign for disclosure that Republicans had hoped to put behind them.

The Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis by the end of the year. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring victims’ names and other identifying information. 

So far, the department hasn’t given any notice when new records arrive.

That approach angered some accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act.

This is a breaking news story.  

Ghislaine MaxwellBill Clinton

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Bill Clinton demands ALL Epstein files be released by DOJ as victims claim THOUSANDS more pictures still being held from public

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Philip Young, 49, was charged with 56 sex offences including multiple rapes and administering a substance with intent to stupefy or overpower to allow sexual activity – as five others also face trial



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Authorities say they don’t have enough food, tents, and equipment to accommodate everyone fleeing Sudan’s war. Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall visited the Ghoz-el-Salam camp in northern Sudan.

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A court in Ecuador has sentenced 11 air force personnel to decades in prison over the forced disappearance” of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys aged between 11 and 15 during security operations in the country’s largest city last year.

The case of the “Guayaquil Four” is widely seen as the starkest example of human rights abuses under the iron-fist security policy pursued by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who placed the armed forces at the centre of the fight against drug trafficking.

Eleven servicemen were sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison. Five others, who confessed and cooperated with the investigation, received reduced sentences of two years and six months, and one was acquitted.

“The cruelty with which the four minors were victimised has been proven,” said the presiding judge, Jovanny Suárez, who was joined by two other judges.

It remains unclear who exactly killed the boys. The trial focused on the crime of forced disappearance, and the public prosecutor’s office is still pursuing a separate investigation into kidnapping resulting in death.

On 8 December last year, Steven Medina, 11, Nehemías Saúl Arboleda, 14, and brothers Josué and Ismael Arroyo, aged 14 and 15, were returning from a football match in Las Malvinas, an impoverished neighbourhood in southern Guayaquil, when they were stopped by air force personnel – who have been deployed on street patrols since Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” two years ago.

For more than two weeks, their families had no news of them, until charred bodies were found on Christmas Eve about 25 miles away.

Noboa’s defence minister, Gian Carlo Loffredo, repeatedly denied the involvement of the military and said instead that the youths had been victims of “criminal groups”.

But CCTV footage later emerged, capturing the moment the boys were assaulted and forced into vehicles.

The case has also been seen as an example of how Afro-Ecuadorians are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations: after their abduction, the boys were taunted with racist insults and beaten with punches, kicks, and blows from belts and gun barrels.

They were stripped naked and abandoned far from home, at a location where one of them managed to call his father to ask for help.

By the time the father arrived, however, the boys were no longer there. Their bodies were eventually discovered on Christmas Eve.

Forensic examinations concluded that all four had been killed by gunshots at close range to the head and back. Their bodies were then burned and dismembered.

The defence teams for the servicemen, including those who confessed to taking part in the abduction and torture, deny that they were responsible for the killings.

One of those who confessed, Christian Eduardo A. Q., said during the trial that troops were being sent to patrol the streets without any training to do so.

“I never received any training in human rights or operational procedures. I worked in the control towers in Quito as a weather observer and air traffic technician. I should never have been sent out on to the streets. They took untrained personnel, because of staff shortages, and sent us to patrol,” said the soldier.

One possible line of investigation is that, after being tortured and abandoned naked miles from home in an unfamiliar area with high crime rates, the four were killed by local criminals.

Suárez, the presiding judge ruled that “the abandonment of the minors in a dangerous and desolate place was the cause of the victims’ deaths.”

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Watch: Images, cassettes and high-profile figures – What’s in the latest Epstein files?

A pair of US lawmakers have threatened legal action against US Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her deadline to release all government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was met only in part.

The release of the Department of Justice (DoJ) documents was highly anticipated but in the end, only a portion of the available material was made public.

A leading campaigner on the issue, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, said he could try to bring contempt proceedings against the attorney general as a result.

The DoJ insists it is complying with its legal obligations, and Bondi herself has said she is part of “the most transparent administration in American history”.

In addition to the move by Massie in the House, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has announced an effort of his own to put pressure on the DoJ.

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Schumer said he would introduce a resolution in the Senate to take legal actions of its own against the Trump administration for failing to release the files in full and “to hold the Department of Justice accountable”.

The issue would be considered when the upper chamber reconvenes in January. Schumer appealed for support from Republican senators, pointing out that the law to release of the full trove was a bipartisan effort.

The phrase “Epstein files” refer to the trove of information that was amassed by the US justice department during its two criminal investigations into Epstein.

A law that compelled the release of the full trove was signed by US President Donald Trump in November, after pressure from his supporters and members of his own Republican Party. Friday was the deadline for the release of the material.

Although some material was released, there were many redactions and other information was withheld – which angered Massie and his allies, as well as survivors of Epstein’s abuse. Trump himself is yet to comment.

The DoJ has said that more material will follow in the coming weeks.

But speaking to CBS programme Face the Nation on Sunday, Massie suggested that the justice department was “flouting the spirit and the letter of the law”.

He went on to say: “The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn’t require going through the courts.”

Inherent contempt is a little-used legal recourse that can be used by either the Senate or House – the upper and lower chambers of Congress respectively – which has not been invoked for nearly a century, according to the American Bar Association.

Massie added that “Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now”, referring to a Democratic congressman who has also been prominent in the campaign for the release of the full Epstein files.

Speaking to the same programme, Khanna gave further detail on how the contempt proceedings could work. “We’re building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she’s not releasing these documents,” he said.

Unlike an impeachment effort – another option that would be theoretically available to critics of Bondi – the contempt move would only require support from the House of Representatives, Massie pointed out in Sunday’s interview.

During an interview of his own on Sunday, with a different broadcaster, Bondi’s deputy Todd Blanche was defiant.

Asked by the Meet the Press programme on NBC News whether he took threats from Congress members seriously, the deputy attorney general said: “Not even a little bit. Bring it on. We are doing everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with the statute.”

Blanche pointed to the magnitude of the task. “You’re talking about a million or so pages of documents,” he said. “Virtually all of them contain victim information.”

He continued: “And if by complying with the statute we don’t produce everything on Friday, we produce things next week and the week after, that’s still compliance with the statute.”

Speaking to the same programme, another member of Khanna’s party, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, said contempt or impeachment efforts would be “premature”.

“We have tools in appropriations bills and other tools to force compliance if somebody is dragging their feet and I’d rather focus on those tools,” Kaine said.

Blanche said elsewhere on Sunday that certain Epstein-related files that were originally released on Friday were later removed by the DoJ from its website because of concerns raised by victims.

One of those files – an image featuring Trump – was later reinstated after review, said Blanche.

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The Israeli government on Monday approved plans to shut down one of the country’s respected military radio stations, claiming it broadcasts “divisive content” which is not in line with military values.

Founded in 1950 and staffed by both military and civilian personnel, Galei Tzahal (literally: “Waves of the IDF”) is Israel’s third most popular radio station with a market share of almost 18%.

Despite its inherent links to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Galei Tzahal (abbreviated as GLZ) has a reputation for impartial journalism, reliable information and public debate. As such, it also broadcasts programs which are critical of the Israeli government and the IDF, thus bringing it to the attention of Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Over the past two years, throughout the war, many soldiers and citizens, including bereaved families, have repeatedly complained that they feel the station does not represent them, and that it even undermines the war effort and morale,” Katz said, justifying his proposal to close the station.

He accused GLZ of broadcasting “political and divisive content that is not in line with the values of the Israeli army” and claimed that “a situation in which a radio station intended for all citizens is operated by the military is an anomaly that does not exist in democratic countries.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged ministers to back Katz’ proposal, saying: “There have long been recurring proposals to remove Galei Tzahal from the military framework, abolish it, or privatize it.”

He claimed that only “North Korea and maybe a few other countries” have public news radio stations controlled by the military. “And we certainly don’t want to be like them,” Netanyahu stressed.

‘They can’t control reality, so they try to control minds’

The Israeli opposition has slammed the move, accusing Netanyahu’s government of clamping down on freedom of speech and attempting to control the media ahead of elections scheduled for October 2026.

“They can’t control reality, so they try to control minds,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote, warning against the closure of other critical media outlets.

“They won’t stop,” he continued. “Wherever there is a truth that is uncomfortable for the government, they act to eliminate it.”

Israeli television station i24news reported that the head of Galei Tzahal, Tal Lev-Ram, intends to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government’s legal adviser and is currently facing dismissal proceedings initiated by Netanyahu, said the move “poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press” and “raises concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting.”

Her office stated that closing the station would require a vote in parliament, while an appraisal seen by the AFP news agency stated that the decision “does not meet the required legal criteria and cannot be advanced in its current form.”

Trump’s Gaza truce plan stalls over key sticking points

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Huckabee says Iran’s ‘ultimate goal is to destroy the US’

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, speaking at the Israel National Security Studies conference, says President Donald Trump has been clear that Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear. (Video: srael National Security Studies.)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump as Israeli officials warn that recent Iranian missile drills could be used as cover for a surprise attack, raising fresh urgency around Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and military posture ahead of the expected Dec. 29 talks.

Those concerns were echoed publicly on Monday by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who warned that Iran’s nuclear ambitions and military posture pose a direct threat not only to Israel but also to the United States and Europe.

Speaking Monday at the Israel Institute for National Security conference, Huckabee said Trump has maintained a consistent red line on Iran. “All I can do is point out to you what the president has said repeatedly, and he consistently has said Iran is never going to enrich uranium, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG THANKS TRUMP FOR ‘HISTORIC’ IRAN STRIKE

A police officer stands guard during a demonstration honoring Iran’s military forces, following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, on June 24, 2025, in Tehran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

“It presents a threat, but not just to Israel, not just to the United States. This presents a real threat to all of Europe,” he added. “And if the Europeans don’t understand this, then they’re even dumber than I sometimes think they are.”

Huckabee suggested in his interview that Iran may not have taken that message seriously until U.S. military action earlier this year. “I don’t know that they ever took him seriously until the night that the B-2 bombers went to Fordow,” Huckabee said. “I hope they got the message, but apparently they didn’t get the full message because, as you have mentioned, they appear to be trying to reconstitute and find a new way to dig the hole deeper and secure it more,” he said at the conference.

Huckabee also framed Iran’s long-standing threats as fundamentally aimed at Washington. “Iran has threatened America for 46 consecutive years, from 1979, when the ayatollahs took power,” he said. “They’ve always said, ‘Death to Israel, death to America,’ in the same sentence.”

“Israel is only the appetizer because you’re closer, and you’re an easier target than the vast geographical expanse that represents the United States,” Huckabee continued. “But they’ve never hidden the fact that the real entrée, their ultimate goal, is to destroy the United States.”

HEGSETH, PENTAGON BRASS PRAISE TRUMP’S ‘SPECTACULAR’ MILITARY SUCCESS IN IRAN NUCLEAR STRIKES

A drone view shows an impacted residential site, following an early morning missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Be’er Sheva, June 24, 2025. (Yonatan Honig/Reuters)

The remarks come amid heightened concern in Israel over recent Iranian military activity. According to Axios, Israeli officials warned the Trump administration over the weekend that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile exercise “could be preparations for a strike on Israel,” citing three Israeli and U.S. sources with knowledge of the issue. One Israeli source told Axios that while intelligence currently shows force movements inside Iran, Israel’s tolerance for risk is far lower than it was before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

A senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital on background that concern over the Iranian drills is rooted in history rather than speculation. “Iran is doing drills. A concern that the drill will become a surprise attack is a real concern based on history. The Yom Kippur War started that way. I remind you, we shouldn’t ignore it,” the official said.

The source dismissed speculation that the drills signal imminent coordinated military action with Washington. “If we were planning an attack with the U.S., it probably wouldn’t make it into the media,” the official said.

UN NUCLEAR CHIEF SAYS IRAN HAS MATERIAL TO BUILD BOMBS, BUT NO PLAN TO DO SO

President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House for a meeting on April 7, 2025. (Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

The official acknowledged that the Iranian activity has also shifted Israel’s domestic political conversation, including debate over draft evasion legislation. “The headlines in Israel are now about the Iranian threat instead of the bill,” the official said. “Is it spin? Is there something special? Is there truth? Maybe. But we always need to be prepared.”

NBC News reported on Saturday that Netanyahu plans to use his meeting with Trump to argue that Iran’s renewed expansion of its ballistic missile program poses a growing threat that could require swift action. According to the report, Netanyahu is expected to emphasize that Iran’s activities endanger not only Israel but also broader regional stability and U.S. interests.

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Iranians burn American flags during an anti-U.S. demonstration outside the former U.S. embassy headquarters in Tehran, on May 9, 2018. (Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

NBC reported that Netanyahu is expected to present Trump with several options, including potential U.S. involvement or support, should Israel determine that additional military action against Iran is necessary.

Asked Thursday about a possible Dec. 29 meeting with Netanyahu, Trump told reporters, “We haven’t set it up formally, but he’d like to see me.” Israeli officials have announced that a meeting is planned for Dec. 29.

Fox News Digital reached out to Netanyahu’s spokesperson but did not get a response.

Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.

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A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.

The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa’s capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.

At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 kilometers (210 miles) from where the mass shooting took place on Dec. 6.

An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect’s vehicle.

“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.

The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.

Police have since launched a search for the suspects.

The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.

The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.

According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.

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Jeffrey Epstein appeared to be kissing and cuddling little girls on his private jet in disturbing photos released in the Justice Department’s latest trove of files.

The stomach-churning photographs, which were framed and put on display at his mansion on Little St James Island, show the pedophile embracing youngsters who appear to be minors.

One image showed the financier holding what appears to be a girl in his lap during a flight on his Lolita Express.

In another photo, he is seen seated next to another passenger, seemingly a youngster, with a book and a magazine sprawled out in front of him. 

Other horrifying photos made public during Friday’s records release showed Epstein cuddling what appeared to be a child and kissing a red-headed girl on the head.

It is unclear if the females seen in the undated photographs were victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. He has been accused of abusing girls as young as 11 years old.

The images were among the more than 300,000 files released by the DOJ on Friday. The records were heavily redacted and no major revelations emerged.

At least 16 photographs, including one of the President flanked by women in bikinis, were mysteriously removed from the online records Saturday, prompting accusations of an alleged cover-up by the Trump Administration. They have since been reinstated.

Jeffrey Epstein appeared to be kissing and cuddling young girls on his private jet in disturbing photos released in the Justice Department’s latest trove of files

The stomach-turning photographs were framed and put on display at his mansion on Little St. James Island. In one image, Epstein is seen seated next to another passenger, seemingly a young girl, with a book and magazine sprawled out in front of him

The thousands of records posted publicly offer the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades’ worth of government scrutiny of Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. 

The tranche of materials released Friday included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop stars Sir Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. 

But some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein were nowhere to be found, such as FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions. 

Those records could help explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.

Democrats also accused Republicans of a cover-up after files that had been available Friday were no longer accessible on the DOJ’s website by Saturday.

The missing files included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showed a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers.

In that image – inside a drawer among other photos – was a photograph of Trump, alongside the pedophile, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. 

The DOJ said that the image of the Trump was flagged by the Southern District of New York ‘for potential further action to protect victims’. 

Other horrifying photos made public during Friday’s records release showed Epstein kissing a red-headed girl on the head

Epstein is cuddling what appeared to be a child. It is unclear if the females seen in the undated photographs were victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. He has been accused of abusing girls as young as 11 years old

Various photos from a room near the sex dungeon in Jeffrey Epstein’s home released by the Department of Justice on Friday

Following furious backlash, the image was reinstated on Sunday morning after it was determined that ‘there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph’, a statement posted on X said.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years before the two had a falling-out, tried for months to keep the records sealed. 

Though the President has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, he has argued there is nothing to see in the files and that the public should focus on other issues.

Friday’s drop of files, replete with redactions, has not dulled the clamor for information, given how many records had yet to be released and because some of the materials had already been made public. 

California Democrat Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, have indicated they could draft articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi for what they see as the gross failure of the department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 

‘It’s not about the timeline, it’s about the selective concealment,’ Khanna said on CBS’ Face the Nation, adding that the redactions in the released files are excessive. 

He said he believes there will be ‘bipartisan support in holding her accountable, and a committee of Congress should determine whether these redactions are justified or not.’

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York argued that there needs ‘to be a full and complete explanation and then a full and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required,’ but he stopped short of backing impeachment.

This photo of an open drawer containing an image of Donald Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell, was removed but then later reinstated in the files

The Department of Justice claimed the photo was removed to ensure no victims were pictured

But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the redactions DOJ’s decision to release just a fraction of the Epstein files by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary actions to protect the pedophile’s victims.

He pledged that the Trump administration eventually would meet its obligation required by law – but stressed that the department was obligated to act with caution as it goes about making public documents that can include sensitive information.

Blanche called that pushback disingenuous as the Trump Administration continues to struggle with calls for greater transparency, including from members of his political base, about the government’s investigations into Epstein.

‘The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims,’ Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

‘So the same individuals that are out there complaining about the lack of documents that were produced on Friday are the same individuals who apparently don’t want us to protect victims.’

He also defended the department’s decision to remove several files related to the case from its public webpage, including a photograph showing Trump, less than a day after they were posted.

Blanche said the documents were removed because they also showed victims of Epstein. He added: ‘It has nothing to do with President Trump. There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public [showing] him with Mr Epstein.’

The deputy attorney general’s comments were the most extensive by the administration since the file dump.

The tranche of materials released Friday included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop star Michael Jackson. The pair pose with Diana Ross

Sir Mick Jagger and the former US president have their picture taken with a woman

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seen lying across women at a black-tie event with Maxwell at the royal estate in Sandringham, UK

Kevin Spacey (second from the right, next to Clinton) was also pictured in the files, seen here in the Churchill War Rooms in London. Maxwell is wearing a cream blouse

Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

Maxwell, Epstein’s onetime girlfriend, is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking crimes. 

The deputy attorney general also defended the decision by the federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer Maxwell to a less restrictive, minimum-security federal prison earlier this year, soon after he interviewed her about Epstein. 

Blanche said that the transfer was made because of concerns about her safety.

‘She was suffering numerous threats against her life,’ Blanche said. ‘So the BOP is not only responsible for putting people in jail and making sure they stay in jail, but also for their safety.’

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It wasn’t a quiet weekend for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor with the release of the first tranche of the Epstein files throwing his connection to the sex offender back into the spotlight

16:25, 22 Dec 2025Updated 16:26, 22 Dec 2025

Andrew’s weekend was mired by the release of the Epstein files

Andrew’s something of a “grinch” this Christmas. New reports over the weekend have claimed that for the first time in 20 years, the King’s disgraced brother has not even felt up to decorating his home for the festive season – even though it is the last time he will enjoy the celebrations in his opulent Royal Lodge home.

Andrew – who shares the lavish 30-room property with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson – finally agreed to give up his lease on the property in October, when his elder brother Charles unceremoniously stripped him of his royal titles.

Public outcry over Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell is yet to diminish, despite the monarch’s move to “distance” himself from the scandal. One expert believes that the trouble for Andrew and Fergie is far from over, claiming that stories and allegations about the former couple’s ties to Epstein will continue to “drip” on for some time.

READ MORE: Epstein files: Infamous Andrew photo taken at Sandringham ‘sex and drugs party’READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Christmas celebrations face disaster amid warningAndrew photographed in the Epstein files

With the release of the first tranche of the so-called Epstein Files by the US Justice Department, many questions were left unanswered, but more pictures of Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking – seemingly inside royal residences were included in the dump, as was a photo of the creepy Spitting Image puppet of Andrew, which was included in a claim made by Virginia Giuffre against the former prince, which he vehemently denies.

Not only did the ongoing controversy around Epstein likely mire Andrew and Fergie’s weekend, but a major update about their family’s festive plans was reported that will see the shamed pair share a pretty gloomy Christmas season indeed. It all seems to be taking its toll on the former prince, who was today spotted looking particularly downbeat as he drove his Range Rover out of Royal Lodge…

Andrew leaving Royal Lodge today(Image: Invicta Kent Media/Shutterstock)

Christmas snub

Andrew and Fergie won’t be joining King Charles at Sandringham for the royal’s traditional Christmas celebrations this year. The last time the pair attended was in 2023, but last year, when controversy surrounding Andrew’s ties to an alleged Chinese spy emerged, they stayed away.

Princess Beatrice went ahead and spent the festive season with her uncle and other royal relatives in Norfolk, but this year she has reportedly decided to give both options a wide berth, instead jetting off on holiday with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and some pals, to avoid having to pick a side. The Sun reports a friend of the Princess as saying, “Beatrice doesn’t want to cause any embarrassment and was torn between loyalty to the King and her parents.”

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are facing some difficult choices when it comes to Christmas, a royal expert says(Image: GettyImages)

The source added that Beatrice was conscious that going either to Norfolk or her parents’ home in Windsor could bring some awkward optics. “It was easier to go off with friends,” a source said.

Beatrice and her sister Eugenie did make sure to carve out some time with their royal relatives, attending the big Christmas lunch the monarch hosts each year in London with the entire extended family last week. The sisters were spotted dressed up and grinning broadly on their way to the family get together, whilst Andrew enjoyed a moody horse ride near his Windsor home, leaving one expert to claim that he might be making them feel a little “guilty”.

Another expert, Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, told the Mirror that Andrew was “clearly sending out a message,” with his downcast horseriding. “He is beginning to try and play the victim too,” the expert said. “It’s a weird thing, because I think most children would stick with them, however awful their parents are, would stick with their parents and spend Christmas with them.

The sisters are feeling torn(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)

“But I think Beatrice didn’t do that last year. She went to Sandringham, so she knows which side her bread is buttered on. So I think we are going to see the fracturing of this supposedly very close family.”

However, the Sun reports that Beatrice was pretty “tormented” when it came to making her Christmas plans, as is her sister Eugenie, with the pair looking to “avoid embarrassment”. Eugenie is reported to be planning to spend the day elsewhere with her husband Jack Brooksbank.

‘Ramshackle’ new home

It has been reported that Andrew will be moving to Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate when he finally hands back the keys to Royal Lodge. King Charles owns the 20,000-acre Norfolk estate privately, but Marsh Farm will be a serious step down from the mansion Andrew currently occupies.

Royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror that the five-bedroom property might need some renovations, but it boasts its own grounds, and is a “pleasant” place to live. “Marsh Farm appears to be a perfectly pleasant old farmhouse, set in its own grounds,” she said. “Apparently it will need a fair bit of work, but if that’s true, it will undoubtedly be done at the King’s own expense.”

Andrew will be moving out of Royal Lodge(Image: ©2025)

About seven miles from the main house on the estate, it is a former working farm, and the no-fly zone around the King’s estate has reportedly been extended to include the property that Andrew might occupy. The Sun reports it is a “ramshackle” collection of buildings and is surrounded by a bog.

Creepy puppet emerges in Epstein files

A puppet that was part of an allegation by Virginia Giuffre appeared in a photo included in the document dump this weekend, which saw the US Justice Department release thousands of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. The latex Spitting Image puppet of Andrew was spotted in the background of a photo taken of Maxwell wearing a flight suit, seemingly in Epstein’s New York mansion.

Giuffre alleged that Andrew once used the puppet to “grope” her breast when she was 17 as well as that of Johanna Sjoberg, who was 21, whilst they were in the study at Epstein’s $60 million property in Manhattan.

The puppet appears in the background of an image of Ghislaine Maxwell(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

In her book, she wrote, “When Andrew cupped my breast with a doll made in his image, I only giggled away”. Andrew denies all the allegations against him made by Giuffre, which include that she was forced to have sex with him three times when she was a teenager.

Other photos of Andrew and Fergie appeared in the document dump, though appearing in photos or being named in the files is not a sign of wrongdoing. In one image, Andrew grinned widely as he lay across the laps of women, appearing to be in the saloon at Sandringham with Maxwell standing behind them. Another image showed Maxwell and Epstein in the countryside at Balmoral.

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