Mystery Surrounds Brief Appearance and Removal of Epstein Files Batch on Justice Department Website

WASHINGTON — In a peculiar episode that has fueled accusations of obfuscation, a large collection of documents apparently related to the federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, was posted on the Justice Department’s website on Monday only to vanish hours later without explanation.

The files, labeled as “Data Set 8,” appeared briefly alongside other recent releases mandated by a law signed by President Trump last year requiring the disclosure of Epstein-related materials. Online observers quickly downloaded portions before the dataset disappeared, prompting questions about alterations to document numbering, internal communications, and previously undisclosed flight logs.

Politico first reported the fleeting availability of tens of thousands of pages, which seemed to follow the sequence of prior releases. By evening, the link had been removed, leaving only earlier batches accessible on the department’s Epstein portal.

Justice Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the removal or any changes made. The episode comes amid intensifying criticism of the department’s staggered release schedule, which critics say violates the spirit — if not the letter — of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That legislation, passed with bipartisan support and signed by Mr. Trump in November, required full disclosure of unclassified records by Dec. 19, with limited redactions to protect victims.

The brief posting of Data Set 8 reignited scrutiny of President Trump’s past associations with Epstein, a onetime acquaintance from New York’s social scene in the 1990s. Among the materials reportedly visible were internal prosecutorial emails from 2020 referencing flight records showing Mr. Trump as a passenger on Epstein’s private jet on multiple occasions during that era — more than previously acknowledged publicly.

One email, from an assistant United States attorney in Manhattan, noted that logs indicated Mr. Trump had flown “many more times than previously has been reported,” including at least eight trips between 1993 and 1996. Some flights included family members, such as his then-wife Marla Maples and their young children, as well as Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.

The flights were primarily short domestic routes between Palm Beach, Fla., and the New York area, predating Epstein’s purchase of his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1998. No records in the visible files linked Mr. Trump to the island, often referred to in court documents as a site of alleged abuses.

In a statement accompanying related releases, the Justice Department emphasized that some documents contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” against the president, describing them as unfounded allegations submitted around the 2020 election. Mr. Trump has long denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes, stating that he banned the financier from his Mar-a-Lago resort after a falling-out years before Epstein’s 2006 plea deal in Florida.

The resurfacing — and rapid disappearance — of Data Set 8 has amplified calls for greater transparency. Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee accused the administration of a “cover-up,” pointing to shifted document identifiers and the selective removal of materials. “What else is being hidden?” they asked in a social media post.

Victims’ advocates expressed frustration, arguing that heavy redactions and the drip-feed approach hinder accountability. “We’ve waited years for full disclosure,” said one lawyer representing several Epstein survivors. “This feels like another delay tactic.”

The Justice Department has defended its process as necessary to safeguard victim privacy and comply with court orders, promising additional releases in the coming weeks. Yet the Monday incident has deepened suspicions among watchdogs and congressional overseers that sensitive details — particularly those touching powerful figures — are being managed carefully.

Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, cultivated ties with politicians, celebrities and business leaders across the spectrum. Previous batches of files have included photographs and communications involving figures like former President Bill Clinton, though no criminal wrongdoing has been alleged against him either.

As the holiday season approaches, the Epstein saga continues to cast a shadow over Washington, raising broader questions about elite accountability and the government’s handling of one of the most notorious cases in recent memory. With pressure mounting from both sides of the aisle, the fight for complete transparency appears far from resolved.