President Donald Trump bemoaned Monday the potential reputational damage inflicted on people who appear in photos released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he insisted were only made public because of an effort to distract from his accomplishments. The comments mark the first time Trump has addressed the files since his Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of them on Friday pursuant to a new law compelling them to do so. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein. The Justice Department is facing criticism from survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse and lawmakers on Capitol Hill over how it has released materials from its investigation of the convicted sex offender. As for the photos of himself contained in the Epstein files, Trump shrugged off what he said was a social connection from another era.

Source: CNN December 23, 2025 09:21 UTC