Slap

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have criticised the United States government after it released a partial trove of documents from cases against the late convicted sex offender with heavily redacted pages and blacked-out photos.

The growing outcry on Saturday came as US media reported that at least 16 files from the tranche, which were published online, had disappeared from the public webpage.

The deleted files included a photograph showing President Donald Trump.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) began releasing the trove on Friday to comply with a law overwhelmingly passed by Congress in November that ⁠mandated the disclosure of all Epstein files, despite Trump’s months-long effort to keep them sealed.

It said it plans to release more records on a rolling basis, blaming the delay on what it said was a time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information.

But 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. They also omitted some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal DOJ memos on charging decisions.

Meanwhile, a 119-page document titled “Grand Jury-NY”, likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019, was entirely blacked out.

One of Epstein’s victims, Marina Lacerda, reacted angrily to the large number of redactions and unreleased documents.

“All of us are infuriated by this,” she told the news outlet MS NOW on Saturday. “It’s another slap in the face. We expected way more.”

Lacerda, who said Epstein abused her when she was 14 years of age, was a crucial witness in the 2019 investigation that led to the filing of sex trafficking charges against the late financier.

Epstein killed himself in jail that year shortly after his arrest.

Lacerda told The New York Times in a separate interview that she felt let down.

“So many of the photos are irrelevant,” she said.

Another survivor, Jess Michaels, told the news outlet CNN that she spent hours searching through the released files for her victim’s statement and records of her call to an FBI tipline, but found neither.

“I can’t find any of those,” she said. “Is this the best that the government can do? Even an act of Congress isn’t getting us justice.”

Marijke Chartouni, who said she was abused by Epstein when she was 20 years old, decried a lack of openness.

“If everything is redacted, where is the transparency?” she said on Friday in an interview with The New York Times.

Some lawmakers also expressed frustration.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who helped spearhead the legislative push, accused the White House of failing to comply “with both the spirit and the letter of the law that Donald Trump signed just 30 days ago” in a social media post on Friday.

That law required the government’s case file to be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legal and victim privacy concerns.

Meanwhile, the unexplained 16 missing files led to speculation online about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding longstanding intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

“If they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide,” said senior Democrat Chuck Schumer. “This could be one of the biggest cover-ups in American history.”

The Trump administration, however, denied that it was not being forthcoming with the released materials. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a TV interview with ABC that there was no attempt “to hold anything back” to protect Trump.

The DOJ also issued a statement on X late on Saturday. “Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information,” it said.

Separately, celebrities who appeared in photos made available as part of Friday’s release include former President Bill Clinton, late news anchor Walter Cronkite, singers Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, British entrepreneur Richard Branson and the ⁠former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey.

Many of the photos were undated and provided without context, and none of those figures has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor also appears in one photo lying across the laps of several women. The former duke of York, who was stripped of his royal title over his ties to Epstein, has denied any wrongdoing.

Notably missing were references to Trump himself, despite his frequent inclusion in previous releases of Epstein-related documents. Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s and early 2000s and had a falling out before Epstein’s first conviction in 2008.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.

Amid the outcry, the DOJ sought to draw attention to Clinton, with two agency spokespeople posting on social media images that they said showed him with Epstein victims.

Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said in a statement that the White House was attempting to “shield themselves” from scrutiny by focusing on the former president.

“They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they ‌want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” he wrote.

Philip Rivers hasn’t played in the NFL for several years. Neither has Cam Newton.

Rivers is in his mid-40s. Newton is in his mid-30s.

Rivers signed with the Indianapolis Colts this week. Newton did not — and he’s taking it somewhat personally that the team did not even reach out to him.

“It’s almost like a slap in my face, bro,” Newton said on the latest episode of the “4th&1 with Cam Newton” podcast. “ I ain’t gonna lie.”

Cohost Omari “Penny” Collins pointed out that NFL teams may not realize Newton is available because of his high profile as a podcaster and TV personality.

Newton stared at Collins incredulously before shouting his response.

“Did Philip Rivers send any type of sign that he was available?” the regular contributor on ESPN’s “First Take” said. “Why you asking me to do something that everybody else didn’t do? I ain’t no sucker. I ain’t no lab rat. Come on, bro.”

Newton added: “People be holding people to a standard that they ain’t even holding everybody else to that standard. And that’s what I don’t like. ‘Well, you ain’t showed that you [are available].’ Have you followed my Snapchat?”

Rivers spent his first 16 NFL seasons with the Chargers and one more with the Indianapolis Colts before retiring after the 2020 season. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Rivers ranks in the NFL’s top 10 for passing yards, passing touchdowns and passes completed. He is currently a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist, although his eligibility for that honor may soon get pushed back.

If Rivers ends up on their active roster — a distinct possibility with the multitude of quarterback injuries the Colts are dealing with — Rivers won’t be eligible for the Hall of Fame until five years after he retires again.

The signing reunites Rivers with Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen, his onetime quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator with the Chargers. The two men are close friends who are said to speak on the phone weekly. As coach of St. Michael Catholic High in Fairhope, Ala., Rivers uses the same plays and terminology as Steichen.

But, as Newton pointed out to Collins, “he’s 44 years old, bro.”

Newton, on the other hand, is 36.

Drafted No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2011, he was the league MVP in 2015 and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl the same year. His 75 career rushing touchdowns and 46 career games with both passing and rushing touchdowns were both records for NFL quarterbacks until they were broken this season by Buffalo’s Josh Allen.

Newton has not played since 2021, but he never officially retired.

“I did not,” he said, “and will not because of an opportunity like this.”

Newton speculated that teams might be scared off by his flamboyant personality. “They don’t want a circus,” he said.

He also joked that the Colts already have a star player who wears jersey No. 1 — cornerback Sauce Gardner — and they knew “I gotta get No. 1.”

Newton was sure to state he had nothing personal against Rivers, his “brother from another.” But Newton also made it clear he wouldn’t hesitate to work out for an NFL team truly interested in his services.

“I’m open for business,” he said. “But I wanna be [with] who really want me. If you don’t want me, don’t send flowers.”