Trump bemoans destroyed reputations from Epstein files in first public comments since DOJ release

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

(CNN) — 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. The measure cleared both the House and Senate with support from all but one Republican and Trump signed it into law; his administration had previously said it did not plan to release any more Epstein materials after a thorough review.

“A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein. But they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruined a reputation of somebody,” Trump said during an event in the library at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach club that he claims to have ejected Epstein from in the early 2000s.

“A lot of people are very angry that this continues. A lot of Republicans,” he said, claiming the issue was meant to “deflect against a tremendous success.”

Trump has long sought to downplay his own connection to Epstein – noting, as he did Monday, the two had a falling out years ago – and he has previously warned that releasing files might be unfairly damaging to those referenced in them. He notably said at Mar-a-Lago he even “hated” to see so many photos of former President Bill Clinton contained in the latest batch of documents released by the Justice Department. Clinton has never been charged with any crimes or accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein; one of the most publicized images in the DOJ release last week was a picture of Clinton in a hot tub with his arms folded behind his head. Beside him is a person whose faced is redacted.

“I think Bill Clinton’s a big boy. He can handle it,” Trump said.

A representative of Clinton, meanwhile, shared a statement Monday before Trump’s remarks calling on the Justice Department to “immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton.”

“Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the Department of Justice’s actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation – using selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties,” said the spokesperson, Angel Ureña, in a statement posted on X.

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. Though the law required the department to make public “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials,” officials did not do so on the Friday deadline, instead releasing a first tranche of files. Lawmakers of both parties said that was unacceptable, with some indicating they would explore legal action. Survivors asserted that the disclosures were incomplete and improperly redacted.

The department has said lawyers will work in the coming weeks to make redactions to protect victims and alleviate other possible concerns.

As for the photos of himself contained in the Epstein files, Trump shrugged off what he said was a social connection from another era.

“They give you their photos of me, too,” he said. “Everybody was friendly with this guy, either friendly or not friendly, but he was around. He was all over Palm Beach.”

Kevin Liptak, CNN