Nude photos and passports: Justice Department posted dozens of problematic images to Epstein files site, CNN analysis finds
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/politics/epstein-photos-redacted-nudes
Publish Date: 2026-02-26 06:00:00
Source Domain: www.cnn.com
For nearly a month, the Justice Department failed to take down more than a dozen images in the Epstein files that should have been redacted, including pictures of a young girl kissing Jeffrey Epstein on the cheek and personal data on passports and drivers’ licenses, according to a new CNN analysis.
The analysis also found more than 100 explicit photos showing what appear to be naked teenagers on a beach that the Justice Department posted online last month, though they didn’t linger for weeks – the DOJ removed them faster from the site or re-uploaded them with proper redactions.
CNN worked with Visual Layer, an Israeli software company that uses artificial intelligence to analyze massive sets of images, to review 100,000 photos that the DOJ released related to Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who was accused of abusing hundreds of girls. Those images were among millions of pages of documents and videos released by the DOJ.
These previously unreported findings add to a growing list of botched redactions in the DOJ releases. This includes multiple videos showing women’s faces, documents that named a survivor of Epstein’s abuse, footage showing an undercover FBI agent on the job, and at least one court filing in which sensitive material could be unredacted via copy-and-paste.
CNN reached out to the DOJ on Monday about the problematic images that were still viewable on the government site. After CNN’s inquiry, DOJ uploaded new versions of these images with proper redactions, covering up private data and faces of women and minors.
“Our team is working around the clock to address any victim concerns, additional redactions of personally identifiable information, as well as any files that require further redactions under the Act, to include images of a sexual nature,” a DOJ spokesperson told CNN in a…
