President Donald Trump said Monday he strongly disapproves of the Justice Department’s release of embarrassing photographs showing former President Bill Clinton with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
“No, I don’t like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t like the pictures of other people being shown. I think it’s a terrible thing.”
Trump warned that releasing such images risks unfairly destroying reputations — even in cases where individuals may have had only superficial or incidental contact with Epstein years ago.
“But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” the president added.
The comments come after the DOJ was legally compelled to begin releasing files tied to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law Trump signed last month amid overwhelming bipartisan pressure. The measure passed the House and Senate nearly unanimously, with just one dissenting vote.
The law required the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related files by December 19, with redactions only to protect victims. While the Trump administration has released thousands of pages, officials acknowledge that many documents remain sealed and will be disclosed on a rolling basis.
Among the most headline-grabbing materials were photos showing Clinton lounging in a jacuzzi with Maxwell, as well as another image placing Clinton alongside Epstein and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
Notably, the disclosures included few new images of Trump. One photo briefly appeared in a document batch on Friday but was quickly removed from the DOJ’s website after several Epstein victims raised concerns, according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Clinton’s team responded by attempting to shift attention back onto the Trump administration, claiming the partial release raises questions about who is still being protected.
“What the Department of Justice has released so far, and the manner in which it did so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected,” Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said in a statement. “We do not know whom, what or why. But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
Trump, who has appeared in previously public photos with Epstein from decades ago, stressed that guilt by association is dangerous — especially when sensitive files are released without full context.
“You can ruin the reputation of somebody,” Trump said. “They gave over 100,000 pages of documents, and there is tremendous backlash. A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein.”
“A lot of people are very angry that this continues,” he added.
Meanwhile, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the bipartisan architects of the transparency law, have indicated they are considering whether to pursue impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi for the DOJ’s failure to meet the December 19 deadline.
As the Epstein file rollout continues, Trump has made clear that transparency should not come at the cost of reckless character assassination — a rare moment of restraint in a scandal where Washington seems eager to burn first and ask questions later.
