The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a post on X on Sunday that the image of Trump was flagged by the Southern District of New York “for potential further action to protect victims”.
It added that the image was removed temporarily for further review “out of an abundance of caution”.
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the DOJ said.
That image was restored by early Sunday, available through a link to the website. The other files had not returned to the site as of that evening.
Blanche called the suggestion that the photo was removed due to Trump “laughable”. “It has nothing to do with President Trump,” he told NBC News.
“There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr Epstein.”
He added: “So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable.”
Blanche cited a judge in New York who “has ordered us to listen to any victim or victims’ rights group if they have concerns” as a reason behind removing some previously posted files.
“There were a number of photographs that were pulled down after being released on Friday,” he said.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims. There is no suggestion that these pictures imply any wrongdoing.