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Conservative responses to the limited release of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case have been mixed, with some backers of the former Trump administration highlighting the prominent presence of former President Clinton and additional Democrats in photographs, while others expressed frustration over how heavy censorship cast Donald Trump and Republicans in a negative light.

Justice Department Justifies Redactions with Strong Rhetoric

Justice Department representatives justified the redactions with intense exaggerated language. “At no point in U.S. history has a President or the Department of Justice been this open with the American people about such a delicate law enforcement matter,” stated a senior Justice official Todd Blanche, who released a detailed letter describing the censorship process.

Questions Raised by Redactions

While the former president's identity and likeness are visible in some of the documents, the extensive redactions prompt serious questions about what may be concealed beneath them. Some Republicans immediately called for greater openness.

“People are raging and disengaging,” wrote Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Via a online statement, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie said the censorship break the law, and implied that a subsequent Congress may move to remove the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, for that violation. “Unfortunately, today’s document release egregiously does not comply with both the spirit and the wording of the law,” he continued.

Some Rightwing Figures Swing In Support of the Disclosure

But, some conservative commentators and Trump loyalists came out strongly behind the Justice Department's actions.

The release—originating from a justice department run by key Trump ally Pam Bondi—includes scores of pages that are entirely redacted, and many of the men depicted in pictures have their identities obscured.

But a few do not, including high-profile individuals like Clinton, pop singer Michael Jackson, and academic Noam Chomsky. The presence of the former president, especially, allowed certain conservative figures to launch the attack.

“This is quite ironic how the political left falsely claimed President Trump of associating with a sex offender, only for the administration's Justice Department to release Epstein files that depict Bill Clinton skinny dipping with a convicted sex offender,” wrote right-wing commentator Laura Loomer.

“Recently released Epstein Files reveal Bill Clinton shirtless in a jacuzzi with a woman that is other than his spouse Hillary Clinton,” posted attorney Rogan O’Handley. “There’s only one reason Epstein would take pictures of a Commander-in-Chief with a young woman in a jacuzzi: Leverage.”

Former President Spokesperson Releases Response

Bill Clinton has consistently said he was aware of no criminal actions by Epstein and has never been accused to have engaged in any misconduct. “The administration has not been concealing those files for an extended period only to dump them late on a weekend to protect Bill Clinton,” his spokesperson Angel Ureña said in a comment.

“This is about shielding officials from what comes next, or from information they’ll try and conceal forever. Therefore they can publicize as many low-quality decades-old photos as they want, but it is not about Bill Clinton. Never has, not ever be,” the response added.

Overall Rightwing Commentary Seems Subdued

However, broader discourse on the right was relatively subdued following the disclosure, especially when juxtaposed against the vociferous demands for transparency that came before the legislative approval to pass a law mandating the documents' release.

Loomer, who not long ago accepted media access at the Pentagon, had been among the loudest proponents for a full disclosure. In February, she chastised the Justice Department broadly and Bondi in particular after a group of rightwing personalities were provided hard-copy folders of files that contained little previously unseen information.