US President Donald Trump said on Monday (local time) that the release of investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could damage the reputation of people who had “innocently met” him in the past, as the Justice Department began releasing the material, AFP reported.Speaking to reporters at his Mar a Lago residence in Palm Beach, Donald Trump dismissed the renewed focus on Epstein as a political distraction. “This whole Epstein thing is an attempt to distract from the tremendous success of the Republican Party,” he said.Trump made the remark after former US President Bill Clinton was featured prominently in the first batch of photos released from the Epstein files. When asked about Clinton, Trump said: “I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I hate seeing photos of him.”“There are photos of me too,” Trump added. “Everyone was friendly to this guy (Epstein).”The Republican president said he opposed the release of such images, calling them a “terrible thing.” “Bill Clinton is a big boy, he can handle it,” he said.Trump warned that the revelations could unfairly harm others who had nothing to do with Epstein’s crimes. “But you have probably published pictures of other people who innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and those are highly respected bankers, lawyers and others,” he said.He added that many people were upset about the publication of the photos. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people who really have nothing to do with Epstein. But they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party and you ruin someone’s reputation,” Trump said.Epstein, a wealthy financier with extensive political and social connections, died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide
