Npr: DOJ Removed Epstein Files That Mentioned Trump Accuser, Documents Show
Justice Department records indicate files mentioning a woman who credibly accused Donald Trump of having sex with a minor were removed from the publicly released Epstein document trove, a development that has intensified scrutiny of the documents' completeness. npr
Npr mention and what was removed
A 21-page slideshow buried within the larger collection of Epstein-related materials included detailed allegations that, sometime between 1983 and 1985, Donald Trump forced a woman in her early teens to perform oral sex, and that when she bit him he punched her and expelled her from the encounter. The same slideshow noted that the woman said she was introduced to Trump by Jeffrey Epstein in 1984. Portions of the slideshow and related interview records are now not visible in the publicly accessible version of the files.
FBI interviews and timeline
Justice Department records indicate the FBI interviewed the woman at least four separate times. A separate downloaded database of the Epstein files included a record showing interviews beginning on July 24, 2019 (ET) and extending to October 16, 2019 (ET). The first interview was entered into FBI case files on August 9, 2019 (ET), the day before Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell. One document noted an atypical 16-day gap between the date the first interview reportedly occurred and the date the interview write-up was entered into the FBI case files, where agents typically have a five-working-day deadline to file such notes.
Legal and transparency implications
The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires that documents relating to the alleged sex trafficker be made public. The apparent removal of interview records and slideshow pages raises questions about whether the publicly available trove matches earlier downloads or separate databases of the same material. Attorney General Pam Bondi has stated that there is "no evidence" that Trump committed any crime, and the president has said he was "totally exonerated" in the Epstein files; those public statements sit alongside the discrepancy in what is currently viewable in the document set.
What the records mean going forward
The immediate observable indicators are the remaining public files, the separate downloaded database that included more extensive interview notes, and the timing of the interview entries into FBI case files. If the documents that were previously visible remain inaccessible in the public trove, questions about compliance with the public-disclosure requirement in the Transparency Act will persist. Pending any official clarification or documented re-release of the removed material, reviewers must rely on the versions of the files that remain available and any separate downloaded databases that have been shared publicly.
Analysis and next steps
The core facts in the released materials are narrow: a slideshow in the trove contained specific allegations about an encounter in the 1980s, the FBI interviewed the woman multiple times in 2019 with a first entry dated August 9, 2019 (ET), and some of those interview records and slideshow pages are no longer visible in the public set. Absent newly published documents or an official explanation about why files were removed or withheld, transparency questions and legal scrutiny tied to the completeness of the public record will likely continue.
