US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the Justice Department’s removal of some photographs featuring Donald Trump from the Jeffrey Epstein files is not connected to Trump himself. The department took down over a dozen photos after requests from victim advocacy groups, NBC News reported. The DOJ’s X post noted, "The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims." The removal was temporary, and after review, the department found no evidence that any Epstein victims appear in the photo. The image was reposted unchanged. Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday that the photos included un-redacted images of women and were taken down as a precaution to protect victims’ privacy. He said, “The photo will go back up once officials complete their review and decide if any redactions are needed.” On Saturday, 15 images were removed from the DOJ website, including a photo showing a table with framed pictures of Epstein and famous people. One image showed Trump with women in bathing suits inside an open drawer. Blanche said the DOJ is still investigating that photo. Blanche also rejected criticism from Democrats who called for full release of the files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He stressed that delays and redactions are necessary to protect victims' rights and privacy. Democrats Ro Khanna, Dick Durbin, and Shri Thanedar expressed disappointment and accused the DOJ of violating the law and lacking transparency. Republican Thomas Massie called the removal "government lies," and ex-Trump aide Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized the slow release as “NOT MAGA.” Blanche denied any cover-up and said, “I have no reason to believe that the lawyers working on this case were talking about President Trump, because he had nothing to do with the Epstein files. He had nothing to do with the horrific crimes that Mr. Epstein committed.” He repeated, “We are not redacting information around President Trump, around any other individual involved with Mr. Epstein, and that narrative, which is not based on fact at all, is completely false.”